A Generation of Men

A generation of men, that didn't cry

a generation that weren't allowed to

a generation of strong soldiers

a tough generation

a resilient generation

but those denied and unshed tears

at unchosen lives

at the unchosen losses

and unchosen traumas

would ferment in the hidden places

behind the barbed wire and wall

they would turn into hardened liver

and arteries that could not

contain the blood within

surging under the pressure of denial

of prohibited expression

Vulnerabilities disguised with swagger

and stiff stances, strong enough

to carry the weight of the defences

Hidden tears that would turn into

stiffened shoulders, clenched jaw;

clenched fists

red faced and threatening

railing against the meek and the mild

hawk-nosed and critical

of the trespasses of the child

The child in the mirror

that cannot be seen

that must not be seen

must be hidden behind smokescreens

and the toxic vices

that arise mists in which we can hide

or try

and when we have tried

and when we can no longer hide

we break

and break, but do not speak

we must not speak, we dare not speak

for we are

a generation of men, that didn't break

a generation that weren't allowed to

a generation of strong soldiers

a tough generation

a resilient generation

who will stay that way, until they

stand on the edge of bridges

cocooned in wombs of dope

or dead at the end of taut ropes