Coldness lingers at the end of these days that pass like the summer breeze.

I step outside into the morning rain, it greets me with a cold stare. Avoiding eye contact, colliding with others doing the same. Finding shelter turns anxiety to fondness and Like a heartfelt apology, Pitter patter on the windows turns coldness to warmth. For a few brief moments, we connect through our aloneness. For a little while, we share each other’s pain.

Like a pendulum in motion I swing between gratitude and regret. The past is set yet I choose to dwell on expectations unmet. Memories flicker like pictures on an old film set. Some I cherish others I wish to forget.

To be a man, you must be strong and seldom if ever, ever wrong. To be a man, you must dominate and always, always initiate. To be a man, you must protect even if, at your own neglect. To be a man, you have to lead in each and every, single deed. To be a man, you cannot cry and all your wounds, you mustn’t pry. To be a man, is to have a penis and to do whatever, the fuck he pleases.