Boyle McCauley News

Since 1979 • April-May 2024 • Circulation 5000

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Toxic Masculinity

Five a.m. comes strolling in
And I wake to greet the dawn
Gone are the days of sleeping in
When you are a rich man’s pawn

My life became a tumult
As my hair grows little grey each day
There could be another result
If I could only find the way

I have to feed my children
Empower all those in my family
Laziness when I was young was a sin
And from that maxim I will never be free

Each day in cold or rain or bitter heat
I line up to toil endlessly with my hands
It’s like I am a piece of meat
And no one understands

I’m trapped and yet I never truly see
What it is that keeps me under someone else’s thumb
I’m trapped in toxic masculinity
And I can’t stand what my life has become

_Leif lives in McCauley. His books can be found at the Edmonton Public Library or at Mint Health + Drugs on 96 Street. You can visit his website at edmontonwriter.com

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