as boys we're taught
to be little men
to stand tall and tough
not to question
pressured to bury
the soft and the small
to grow into someone
who feels nothing at all
our coming of age
is no celebration
it's a ritual act
of self-mutilation
to cut away care
and harden your heart
to spurn what is shared
and keep us apart
the threshold we cross
as we leave adolescence
is denial of care
for our shared luminescence
compete with your brothers
for money and status
man's worth is defined
within a strict lattice
not just an event
but a mode we exist in
a lifelong performance
a thing we persist in
so the thing that you lose
when you come of age
is all of the love
that you disengage