I was yanked from my mother’s womb <br />Pushed into this world <br />Without a choice <br />Slapped on my behind <br />Without dignity and told, <br />Go out there and be a man <br /> <br />I was given toy cars and guns to play with <br />Thrown into this rough and tumble playground <br />Nobody cared for the boy inside <br />Nobody ever took note of him <br />When I came home crying to Mama, <br />Mama would say, son, men do not cry <br />Go out there and be a man <br /> <br />I went to school to learn <br />Not to give but to take <br />Not to love but to hate <br />The schoolyard was a jungle <br />Survival of the fittest was the order <br />The teacher would always say <br />When you came complaining <br />This is a man’s world <br />Go out there and be a man. <br /> <br />Today I have a woman <br />Wants to be hugged and loved <br />Showered with tender words and kisses <br />But I don’t know about that <br />I never had me a doll to coo and cuddle <br />All I ever had were toys of destruction <br />And the tender words of guidance <br />Go out there and be a man.<br /><br />Mpho Petrus Manwedi<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/be-a-man-2/
