The Paradox Of Becoming A Man Poem by Nancy Handabile

The Paradox Of Becoming A Man



I weep for the boy he once was
And I weep for the man he has become
For I know between boyhood and manhood
There is a lot of pain and sorrow
Confusion and betrayal
His earnest search for Love is intermingled
With his hatred for others
It is a road, a very hard long walk, he must walk

At times, he sees himself for what he has become
And it feels him with shame
For he is is a frightened, fragile, vulnerable boy
In a man's body
Can he break free from the shackles?
That ties him down

I pray for him each night
So that he might discover
(And simply not just wonder)
What it is that makes living
And what makes love worth feeling

He must learn to face his fears
And if need be to shade the tears
That glisten and glimmer in his eyes
He must appreciate what he has
His gifts, his abilities, inabilities

He must learn to dream
For only then will it seem
That he has found the truth
(Or at least part of it)
And then perhaps when has conquered
His imperfections,
I shall stop weeping
But I shall jump because then a reason
Will to me be given
And I shall sing of him
Because he will triumph and shine
And his feet his bare feet will
Not be oppressed much longer

Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Topic(s) of this poem: growing up
POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
I wrote this poem when I used to volunteer with street kids and would see how they would grapple with growing up
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