Man OverBoard

Man Overboard

Sea,
I watched
As my youth was charted
Like a highway route
Crossing all major neighborhoods
Pit stopping for the subterranean
In the hopes of discovering
The truth behind
"What's tough enough?"

As a child I was told,
Man up!
To me, that was tough.
Displaying masculinity with the 'cuffs
Shooting the five without the interrupts
Except that became my familiar route
To evaluate the measure of the toughness in my youth

But,
Not tough enough is what
Got my mother cussed
When or if she protested
Successfully

Got Ronnie Barnes killed
And big Ron's front teeth knocked out
After he was put into a sleeper hold

Tough enough
Got brothers snuffed for playing tough
Got sisters pushed for not being pushovers
Got friends locked up for protesting causes
Got neighborhoods removed
Then moved to somewhere else
A place some people call --
A better neighborhood

Tough enough
Got babies wanting to be grown before they grow.
Got men receding growth cause they can't envision the view.

Tough enough
Taught genders to switch roles
And, then disregard the meanings of such.
Removed the hearts of fathers
Causing them to forget to say I love you
In the morning afternoon or evening

Tough enough
Never taught me much
So how was I expected to know Tough enough could never be enough
When I was told,
Man up!
©



Viva Los Treps!!!