'I Wish to Be Able to Tell You What Manhood Is NOT': A Poem for My Son

Veer Misra's piece on male body positivity prompted a young mother to share an original poem titled, 'To My Son'. 

To my son,
I wish to be able to tell you
A few things and a many

I wish to be able to tell you
That sometimes,
It's okay to fail, to cry,
to burst out, to break down

I wish to be able to tell you
That the first time you fall in love
might not be the last time you ever will
That maybe the star you are searching for
is right now shining bright on another planet,
or maybe, the one you've walked past
is the one you will walk back to

I wish to be able to tell you
That it's okay to cry
That tears are not a symbol of
weakness but of strength
You won't become less of a man
if you cry in front of her
and that you won't become more of a man
if you make her cry for you

I wish to be able to tell you
what manhood is 'NOT'
That you were not born to be
sturdy and sporty and tough and tight.
That sometimes you can be
tender and delicate
and play with a doll,
while letting your sister play football
That the size of your penis does not
determine your masculine strength

I wish to be able to tell you
that you need not be
A woman to be a feminist.
And that being an anti-feminist
does not make you a superior male
That the war of the sexes isn't
to claim any superiority
for Adam wasn't just about strength
and Eve not alone beauty

Himanshi Dahiya is a 21-year-old theatre artist based in New Delhi.

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