oh hi,

you answered.

well lets get straight to it.

do you have time to talk about

masculinity?

you see,

i'm on a mission to find the

divine self in me

beyond the programming and

maybe

you'd like to join in the search

of what strength and

vulnerability

can look like on two sides of

the same coin.

so when it's flipped, one can't

tell

the difference from the other

and shocks my brothers

like the electric transient shift

in moving the emotional

mountains

that took years for me

and for you, maybe a couple

weeks.

talk about a forty day

penance

i can tell you that the male

box is a sentence

since aggression is cherished

on the battlefield

and the football field

and the soccer field

and the baseball field

and the wrestling rings

and the boxing rings

and the weddings rings

and the onion rings

and the la streets

and wait...

don't tell me that

man versus food

and booze

and the tube ain't a sport in

matrimony.

because when did we decide

that our pride takes priority

and stifles a women's voice

on her body and clothing

choice?

because in the land of the

free market and capitalistic

society,

ima need some time to take

off this mask, see,

it's been a while since i lost

the key.

do you still have time to talk?

and so i dont know,

i guess i call for a coalition

called the masculine task

force

where the catcalling,

name making,

shaming,

and blaming are

cast out the window

and what's left in the

playbook,

i can't say but i know this:

masculinity should feel like a

warm blanket

that i clothe myself in so when

i lay next to my partner in

arms

and she sees the ink on my

skin,

i want it to breathe protection.

because we ain't teaching our

boys to be boys,

we're teaching boys to be

human again.

and i know what's on the

underside of that bed.

the toxic monster that still

tries to pull me down into

wars

with bullet toys and big tanks

into someone else's home.

that's telling me this is worth

more

than what i can't even solve in

my own backyard;

clothing and giving a home for

a soul who’s homeless

and may have felt a little too

much aggression,

and the women in poverty

with them.

so if you or someone you

know

was a victim of the this

masculine phenomenon,

call me and let's put an end to

this next pandemic

with accountability,

especially for those struggling

with tomorrow to see

what life without the mask can

be.