Catcalling
Whistling, Hollering
While your walking,
Feeling Scared,
Those dark-eyed stares,
under gaze of the blinding sun,
in the cruel cold night,
look back, look left,
look back, look right.
Get Over It
Just get over it,
It’s not that deep,
You’re so dramatic.
It’s just a joke,
But no one’s laughing.
It’s just you,
Someone who will never walk in my shoes.
So while you keep making comments about a story you haven’t read,
I’ll lie awake thinking about it all night in bed.
Unspoken Heart
I hate overthinking,
The feeling of my heart sinking,
My eyes constantly blinking holding in the tears,
As im thought to not show my fears,
As a man i feel misunderstood,
The boy that never could,
I wish i could leave it all behind,
When im asked I say I nevermind,
But deep down I do,
Even though I cannot tell you.
Less Human
Scraped knees, unwashed hair turns to
Painful piercings, contoured cheeks, turns to
Scratchy underwire and prickly legs, turns to
Pretending to be far older than you are, turns to
Ignoring the calls from across the road, turns to
Quitting sports to avoid being bulky
To turn into a woman, is to become less human
To become a fantasy.
Men can’t talk
Men can’t talk
About a side that makes them think that they are soft
Instead they hide it away
And let it pile up over time
The reason is because no one is shining a light on it
Something needs to change.
The Female Mind
From pathetic catcalls
to unwanted attention withdrawals,
from wandering eyes to violent guys.
From wondering if your skirt is too short,
to wondering if he’ll ever go to court.
These are all thoughts inside the female mind,
I really wonder if the world will ever just be kind.
Silent Storms
Storms hide behind silent smiles,
Quiet minds let no emotion out,
Till that one best friend cracks you open,
The emotions no longer feel trapped,
As they have found another safe place to hide.
Hard Man
Being born in place where a man had to be tough,
where he had to fight lots and he had to act rough,
but under the skin of this boy from clondalkin
its often normalised that emotions are not taken, w
hen crying on shoulders was easier then carrying caskets,
lads would rather be loud and try to mask it.
Beauty the Beast
The beauty standards are unreachable,
not enough money to change,
they say your too emotional
but they have never looked into your brain
you try to change for the male gaze
but not for yourself.
You hide away in makeup
but they never care what you have to say
you’ll never be the perfect stereotype
but you can always be true to yourself.
And not let men take over your mind.
Who I Am
Big boxes, piled high
All my classmates gather to say goodbye.
Not sure where to say I’m from
London, Ireland or Hong Kong?
A little bit of trauma, not sure from where
But when we found my grandad, it was a scare.
So new school, new friends
The cycle never ends…
Soon music became a crutch,
an escape from the world.
But I still wished I could be
like all the other girls.
Who had childhood mates
and never had to worry
About who their best friend was
Or their partner or buddy.
But as I get older, I realise
how to ignore all the prying eyes,
When I say I was born in London, lived in Hong Kong
Because I know my family’s home waiting for me,
with the kettle on.
The Names and Faces I see
The past is always around the corner
I see them everywhere
The names and faces
The backs of heads
You’ll know it’s them before they turn around
I’m not scared of them
Not anymore
They weren’t terrible to everyone
Just me
But they don’t seem to recognise me
Or even notice I’m there
It’s nice to not have to deal with them
But I do wish they would see me
It would make what I went through
Feel less insignificant
That it already does.
Masculinity
It is so much more
and so much better than a catcall on the street.
Masculinity is worth more than winning a fight
It is having the awareness to realise
that every woman you see is a mother, a sister, a niece, an aunt
a friend, a partner, a hero or somebody’s whole world.
Masculinity doesn’t mean lifting weights in a gym
it is not measured in the kilos that you can bench.
It is the measure of how you treat others
when others are in need.
Masculinity is not toxic,
but it has become a toxic word
that encompasses sexism, violence, racism, homophobia and conflcit
all over our natural instrinct to care for and feed
the better parts of ourselves
in those in need.
Whispering Mirrors
It’s never ending
It comes from behind you and in front
From the left and the right
From your friends or foe
From the place you call home
It’s never ending.
Looking over your shoulder
Waiting for the next whisper, look, smile, frown
Tiptoe around, tread lightly, stay in line.
It’s never ending
Be the same, dress the same, speak the same
Does the judgment stop,
Do the expectations ease
Do they back off
It’s never ending…or is it
It does end, with you, you are the change
You are yourself
Your change, attitude and opinions will help end it
Stop the judgment, most of us can’t handle that weight
Boys and girls whoever you are, don’t carry that judgment alone
It does end!
The sealing armour of masculinity
The unsaid vow of silence.
To never open up, and must resort to violence
An impenetrable armour for a feeble ember of
empathy to keep it sealed so that,
The steel of toxic masculinity forged by smiths of unstable egos.
To be a man
is to cry but people don’t see that
so they put on a mask to try and conceal that
but the more you conceal it the more you can feel it,
To be a man is to lie,
Lie about the ability to cry,
Or lie about their real selves,
And put on a new personality,
To impress those who cant be themselves .
But it’s time to tell the truth and reveal how you really feel,
reveal that it’s okay to cry and you shouldn’t lie.
To be heard
I feel alone and I don’t know why
I feel like all my friends don’t care
I worry and I can’t stop
I can always feel my stomach drop
no one knows what I feel I fear what everyone would think of me
I enjoy watching worlds beyond my own
at least then I can imagine I’m not so scared
at least then I’d be heard.
Her Story
Nearly every woman has a story ,
No matter her age,
No matter where,
No matter what she was wearing,
Just one word,
One action,
Can ruin her day.
In this world
There isn’t a lot of love, but there are plenty of people,
who feel like they’re above.
They talk down about others,
and make them feel shame,
but what they don’t realise,
is that we aren’t all the same.
Some are vocal, while others are shy,
and some make people feel so bad
they feel like they want to die.
So show some more love,
and make people feel alive,
because you never know what they’re going through,
so give them great lives.
Macho
They act so macho
convince them selves
they’re all natrual
It’s sickining to see
who I am expected to be
I’d rather go hang out
with the more intelligent gender
if I wasnt so ashamed
to be a man
beneath the male gaze
this generation of abusers
the humiliation of muses
I guess I’ll just keep on going
till I reach an age
in which I get to finally experience
male intelligence within my range.
Clones
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.
Whoever I am is wrong.
People tell you to be yourself
But nobody actually wants that.
They want you to fit in,
to act like everyone else.
Tough Man
In tough words
and tougher walls
few remain toughest
But the toughest look soft
like cotton balls
rolling
away
together.
The Stone
I think in my life I lived on two sides
Getting lost in a narrative
Or speaking what i think
I had comments about second hand opinions
I think most was
But when I woke up I think I found my self.
I moved on, I walked away from it.
Now I think I am a better person
I am not smooth as baby’s skin
Still rough around the edges
but I’m soft to the touch.
Each day I shave a bit off, soften my self up
but keep the rough edges
as it reminds me of what I was
and how I have improved
as you need rough and soft edges
to be a man
to be a person
to be real.
How?
How can I be a man
How can I be myself
How can I get all the girls
How can I be the most popular
How can I focus on myself
Which path do I choose?
Which path is right for me?
Do I need to choose now?
Or is there still time?
Does anybody know?
Are we all still figuring this out?
Make your own answers.
Fragile Heart
From when i wake
to when i rest under my bed sheets,
i feel the need and desire to be strong
and not to be weak.
I go to the gym to feel strong
but when i miss her i feel weak.
holding that dumbell like i use to hold her hand
im not myself i feel empty and bland.
This love wasnt just a fling,
what i have for her isnt a disposable thing.
im told to move on
but thats simply not my thing
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
Be Yourself
Being this young can be great fun
But being you true self is better
I’ve come to think from, this class,
That you shouldn’t try to be somebody your not
As the best version of yourself is you.
The man you really are.
You should respect others how they should be treated
But most importantly enjoy life
You only live once.
The First Time
I still remember the first time I drank
and for that I have my sister to thank
it started as a bit of fun until I did it to make my mind blank
I told my friends about what I think
to that they told me to have a drink
the thoughts in my head weren’t very nice
as I get poured a glass of vodka no ice
I don’t what this in my head I say
but nothing comes, out as I don’t want to seem gay
Being a Man
Being a man is to care as well as careless.
To not worry about things that don’t matter and to for things that do.
To fight for what you believe in no matter the consequences
And to accept the little and large with open arms.
As everyone deserves respect and empathy
Everyone is connected and everyone is effected by each others action
So think about what it feels like to be the little person
Protect
I’d like to use my strength to protect,
I try but fail,
That’s my defect.
Instead I do what’s easy, does that make my mind frail?
That’s what I think it is to be a man.
To help, whenever we can.
Even if we fail along the way,
You could save someone, or just make their day.
Being a Man
Being a man to me is finding who you are,
Not the strength you have, the money you make or if you drive a fancy car.
Being a man to me is learning to be yourself
And not to keep hiding your emotions on the shelf.
Being a man to me is about the connections that you make,
The trust you build with people, like bonds that just won’t break.
If there’s one thing I’ve been told it’s to take a step back,
just one or two.
And to always remember,
JUST BE YOU!
Brave
Masculinity is being brave
Even when facing the possibility of being in the grave.
Being vulnerable and standing tall even when your about to fall.
A Man
What is it a man? A strong brave creature ?
An alpha, a hero, a natural born leader ?
These questions not answered
Forced to figure it out
Will it be answered I highly doubt.
The Man I Think I Am
The man I think I am
Or the man I’m pressured to be
I think I am sensible man
I’m pressured to be this strong independent man
But sometimes I fell like it’s hard to share my feelings
even though I’m a human being
Strong on outside
but weaker inside.
The Man
I know the man I am today
Not perfect but ill find my way
I’ve made mistakes I learned a few
Still chasing dreams still pushing through.
I stand with pride I speak my mind
No need to fake no need to hide
I walk my path take my stand
I know myself I’m the man.
How?
How can I be a man
How can I be myself
How can I get all the girls
How can I be the most popular
How can I focus on myself
Which path do I choose?
Which path is right for me?
Do I need to choose now?
Or is there still time?
Does anybody know?
Are we all still figuring this out?
Make your own answers.
Being Allowed to be a Man
Being a man is tough
Your life could be over in one sentence
And then it could be rough
Women think men want one thing
But they don’t understand men enough.
But at the end of the day
Just because some men are bad
It doesn’t mean every man is
And the more women can understand that
The more vulnerable men will be
If you let us.
My Point of View
It starts at 8
when you are with your mates
The slaggings, the stupidity and freedom,
Continues to 12 where you see it all well,
Such as drugs violence and death,
When your are older it occurs more common
people try to share it, they dare you do it do it,
it’s not a big deal,
but really it could change your life,
you start to see what your area is about
when you see the knifes and the guns,
but other people don’t see how good it can be
when you keep yourself to yourself,
I have seen some and will never talk none,
that’s just the life I live,
sometimes it’s not as bad as it seems
just because the people I know are bad
that doesn’t mean it’s me.
Slagging
Unable to show, unable to speak
about emotions without looking odd or weak.
Slagged for being different, boring or lame
For not disliking sport and playing video games.
Getting made fun of by groups unnamed
because other lads don’t think our value is the same.
Having to keep quiet and can’t start to spout
around others, and letting my interests out.