Christian Brothers College, Cork.

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I like being a man because of boozer

I don’t think boozer will choose her

 

Conrad feens over any Twomey

him and Amy go Amy boomy

 

Lennie goes operator and ruins the world

I think he should be banned

 

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Masculinity is being loyal to one another

Masculinity is talking openly to one another

Masculinity is not judging people straight away

Masculinity is joking around with each other

Masculinity is talking seriously to one another

Masculinity doesn’t have to be a bad thing

 

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Being a man is hard as women make us all out to be the same misogynistic people.

All the lads think that everyone should be emotionally closed off and unable to show they’re vulnerability.

 

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Wake up late, hair a state

call it style, but nah we’re late

shirts half tucked, socks don’t pair

still think we’ve got that flair

 

talk big talk, I could’ve gone pro

if not for that need years ago

we act all chill but deep within

we still learning the ropes of being men

 

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Being a man is never easy

Trying to fit into social norms

Everyone wants to be the same

Men being stereotyped

Told they are misogynistic

Forced to believe it

but behind it all

They just want to be understood

 

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I’m not the kind of man to slag you for something you can’t control

I’m not the kind of man to hit you when you down

I’m the kind of man to help you when you need it

I’m the kind of man to stand up for you when no one else will

I’m the kind of man to talk to you on the first day of school if you’re new

 

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masculinity is being open to show yourself

masculinity is toxic

masculinity is being proud

masculinity is being ashamed

masculinity is being strong

masculinity is being weak

masculinity kills

masculinity makes you feel alive

masculinity puts you down

masculinity is definitive

masculinity is who you are

 

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I am a man born and free

Down on a knee

Be like a ski with the flee of glee

But no one see the bee sting that’s on the east wing

Friends and foe tell me “yo!”

I sit here thinking “oh no”

I see how people sell with glee the sea sells

 

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Men, Men, Men, our toxic image carven,

We strive for perfection

but only find criminalisation.

We hurt women daily,

and cause them just pain mainly,

we need to look inside ourselves and see

these women have their story,

are mothers, sisters and daughters too

 

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Masculinity is more than a catcall on the street

Masculinity is more than winning a fight

Masculinity is realising that every woman you see is a mother a sister a niece or an aunt

Masculinity doesn’t mean lifting weights in a gym

but how you treat others when they show they’re in need.

Masculinity is a word used to cover sexism racism all over our feed

but it really means helping others when they call in need.

 

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I’m fifteen now, still trying

To grow up for my immature

Young self the thought of growing

Up is intimidating but it has to happen

It is scary but has to happen the weight

Of being a man is terrifying but has to

Happen.

 

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I am a man, as simple as can be,

There is no set definition for what a man can be,

A man can love, can feel and can be scared,

A man can be himself around those he knows care,

A man will not be shamed for being himself,

And a man doesn’t make fun of those who need help,

A man doesn’t feel threatened by those who are different,

And can learn a new lesson from everyone he meets

 

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Sixteen in cork, where the sun barely shines,

Late nights with the Boiz, always a surprise,

Rugby on Saturdays, the highs and the lows,

Dreams of a win and the crowd to roar,

 

Fish and chips from the local van,

Engines purring, like an earthquake for man,

School so wrong and weekends not long,

Life simple and clear for a sixteen-year-old boy on Sidney hill.

 

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Men aren’t born but discovered,

Grown by surroundings and others,

Challenges and hardships we face,

Yet it goes untold to another,

 

But men are loyal and true,

And will never switch up on you,

So don’t judge or make an opinion,

And you will be one of few.

 

See Red

We are more than just evil, abusive men,

We don’t drink blood, we don’t only see red

Just give us a chance, we won’t fail

We probably won’t hit you, we weren’t in jail

Just because were bigger, stronger or both

Doesn’t mean there has to be a moat

Just because the last guy hit your head

Doesn’t mean we will, we don’t all see red.

 

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Lenny ruins the world every time

he goes on operator every time,

he gets TNT every time

and destroys zaman’s house every time

 

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Mixing colours in my head,

Yellow and blue won’t make red,

I can’t write, I draw instead,

My rooms messier than my shed.

 

I doodle throughout maths class,

I tap my fingers during mass,

I dream during tests and pass,

My heads a mess, a field of grass.

 

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To be a man is more than what you think

it is more than the outside look

or ability to read a book

it doesn’t need to be what you have to be

rather what you choose to be

It’s knowing when to build a wall

and when to let it fall

to stand up for those who have no voice, but listen most of all

to live and breathe this foreign air

and live for those who choose to care

 

The Sunflower

They called the sunflower small,

Surely it could never be tall?

Why even give it a chance?

That’s a horrible stance.

Just give it time and maybe it will shine,

Higher than the rest.

 

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l am a man because l go to the gym.

l am a man because my favourite Food is Steak

l am a man because I like the taste of beer.

l am a man because I love hiking

l am a man because I love spending time in nature

l am a man because l love my home countries.

I am a man because my family is my priority

l am a man because I have a certain modesty and honestly

my biggest dream is a big house and a big loving family.

 

Poem

A poem is on the agenda,

deep down I want it to be profound,

but at the same time pseudo-vulnerable.

I know that these cannot co-exist.

I’ve always admired poems – for their multifaceted nature.

I know I’m not articulate enough

 

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The man I am is not defined by a formula tables book

It is defined by a new formula made by me

To enjoy the things I like

And be respectful, generous, and kind.

 

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Being this young can be great fun

But being your true self is better

I’ve come to think from this class

That you shouldn’t try to be somebody you’re not

As the best version of yourself is you

You should respect others how they should be treated

But most importantly enjoy life

You only live once

 

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In the school halls to the rugby balls

Or when the lunch bell calls

And when the metal flask falls

It’s all about the most powerful man who has the best mating calls

Or the girls who can have the boys fall

Or some who are afraid to call a place home

School can be a place for all

 

Poem

From the rugby club

To a dark old pub

In the gym hitting curls

Just hoping to catch girls

Decide between getting grades

Or getting paid

After all that’s the aim of it all.

 

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We laugh too loud,

we dream so wide,

the world feels big,

we’re just outside.

 

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All they do is talk about grades

Distinctions and H1s, the lot

Or else it’s sports and trophy parades,

All about scoring the winning shot.

Where is the talk about our health,

How we are feeling in our core.

What we feel is our wealth,

And needs to be talked about more

 

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Cork by daytime

makes a great rhyme

but Cork by night

would give you a fright

all the bais think they run the place

trying to mind your own business would get you stabbed with no trace

in this city no one has any individuality

in my opinion it’s brutality…

 

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If love will do

What I do too

Then let just this be known;

 

Love will get

Some ice cream

And forget

About it.

 

Still sleeping in school

Mixing colours inside my head,

Yellow and blue mixed to make red.

 

Feeling sleepy. “I’m fine!”, I said,

I grow fields of dreams in my bed.

Eyes closing, then jerking awake,

Like a coke can, after a shake.

Dreams in class, my presence was fake,

Still, I’m stuck, in my fields and lakes.

 

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When the frost of the land becomes still

The sad emotions stay stagnant

The harshness of the mistake becomes evident

As the world seems to crumble

The man shows little emotion

And the same will happen tomorrow

For the man will never learn

 

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When I speak, I’m too annoying,

When I don’t, I’m too shy.

Always too much or never enough,

Nothing I do is right.

People tell you to be yourself

But nobody actually wants that.

They want you to fit in, to act like everyone else,

 

Love.

Those who go looking force it

Those who don’t find it

Those who fear it, lose it.

And those who give it freely

carry it forever.

 

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Earlier Tonight I glanced at the news,

another Man’s life had been ruined, blew his fuse.

“The hotter the world is, gone is their habitat.”

Everything is so slow the grass grows so flat,

I turn off the lights, all these long, long nights.

 

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