by S.O.H
From childhood's dawn, the lesson came unsaid,
"Stand tall, be strong," was all the elders said;
A boychild learnt to stay awake
Even in a stormy blaze, he has nothing to stay
A little weakness can be seen as cowardice
He is also a human, but no, it's he does that or this
No matter what he faces, he needs to man up
But within, he's grieving; he just needs to speak up
The rate of Suicide went up annually
The society has placed expectations, bounty
Can his fear really be termed as cowardice?
But all he could hear was " Man up, Maturity"
Men wallow in depression, silence, yes, in darkness
All he needs is a hug, assurance and "you can be the best"
But when even his loved ones ask him to bottle up
He thinks to himself, maybe the answer is just to give up.
Editor Note: This is part of the UCJ series on creative pieces for Men Mental Health Month
