Shackled

I'm not allowed to cry.

If I do, nobody asks me why.

They tell me I can't have feelings, but I deny,

I say I need to process how I feel.

They say I'm not a man, but that's a lie.

And nobody wonders why we don't all survive.

How am I supposed to live if I live as half a guy?

An important part of my body, I must deny.

A crucial part on which my heart and mind rely.

All because they're afraid of what they'll find.

They try to pass their fear on to me, but I allow myself to cry,

Because I'm a man, and nobody tells me when I can and cannot cry.