In this place, Boys are born in the evening And are told not cry until They find a space to stand within the sun As stars bigger than the moon. Boys crawl into men By presenting their chest as a gourd holding liquid traumas Crossed with the weight of tomorrow. Unborn babies run away from being born a boy--- The world is so calmly stacked with girls. Sons inherit burdens from their fathers Strivings/strivings To hold the weight of the body To hold a path through which the dreams Of others walk into reality. Sons take the form of the sun, They brighten others through the glints of their sweats, But no one ever thinks the sun will be Needing a star by its side like the moon. Our bodies, Celebrate pilgrimage, a visiting place Stop by; take a nap: stand: go; We learn under the shade of a flower/ How best to visit an infirmary When it rains heavily on our daughters But forget to tell our sons That a shade is also for them when the sun heat's too much. Nwuguru Chidiebere Sullivan is a budding writer who writes from the soul about himself, his life and the ebbing African culture. He is a penultimate medical Laboratory science student, who hails from Ebonyi State, Nigeria. He has lots of unpublished artworks to his credit. His works have been published in the Quills, Ace World, and has also contributed in many anthologies.
8 Comments
3/3/2020 08:21:18 am
This poem is about the misfortune of being a boy child because of the so many responsibilities attached to boy like- inherit burdens from their father and sourcing the family which is like growing old and forgeting what it is to be young
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Esterifiedpersona
7/3/2020 11:44:10 pm
I love, love this poem. For a society that has not fully awakened to the feminism cause, it's refreshing to see the men being spoken for too. We all need to be heard, we all need to be felt.
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11/3/2020 07:49:26 pm
What we see in this poem, it's true definition of a growing male child.
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John Dare Okafor
17/3/2020 02:46:41 am
The poem transported me back to my childhood, as reminiscence how I metamorphose into the man I have become today just by being a boy.
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mfonobong udofia
23/3/2020 12:49:13 pm
This is a very nice poem. It shows that behind the smiles of a boy child is the fear of him becoming a man. This poem mirrors the society we live in where the male child is being planted with the belief that weakness (crying) is an offence and that it's solely his duty to provide and secure the family without thinking that he too is a human and is subject to fear. The boy child protect the girl child but who protects him(the boy-child).
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Mona Theresa
25/3/2020 07:30:15 pm
Men and boys. Lies and macho. Society and burdens. Magnificent write up
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Emurotu Akpowevwe Roy
27/3/2020 01:43:38 pm
It's a good poem
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