Let The Boy Child Be, Dear Fathers, Dear Men

On a hot, sunny day, a boy is born.
Soon thereafter, just like in the past,
daddy leaves.
Mum has to feed yet another hungry mouth.
Mum has to raise the boy,
alone.

Mum has no means,
no resources as the boy grows up,
she needs a helping hand;
but who will offer it?
The world turns its head,
and looks the other way
from the hungry boy, but he blossoms.

The boy becomes a teenager;
he needs a male mentor
to show him how to maneuver through life,
to show him the ways of responsible men,
But the world turns back
from the hungry boy.

The boy doesn’t get help.
He runs away from home;
he plays in the street by day,
and roams the streets at night.
He lives his life
the best way he knows how.
Slowly but surely he grows
to be an angry young man,
as society continues to ignore
and turn away from the hungry,
and now indignant boy.

The boy is now a young adult
desperate and confused,
he becomes promiscuous,
he develops diminished self-esteem
and a compromised physical
and emotional security.
He develops behavioral disorders
and struggles with emotions.
But humanity is too busy to notice
the hungry, angry boy’s agony of rejection.

The boy performs poorly academically;
he learns to steal and fight;
he becomes enrolled into youth crime.
Society curses the hungry, angry boy
But the boy is all the while
pleading to humanity,
“Give me a chance,
I know I can be what I wanna be
show me how to do things right;
and I will do it.”

The hungry, angry young man’s SOS,
receives no response from the male gender.
He suffers exploitation, physical abuse,
emotional maltreatment, and sexual abuse
in the hands of a society that cares less.

Emotional distress and mental health disorders
such as anxiety, and depression
get bottled up inside him and
lead him to incarceration or suicide.

But humanity still turns away
and lays the blame
on the hungry, angry young man.
They gather around and watch
as he is led to the gallows, or as he dies.

A few days later,
on a hot sunny afternoon,
another baby boy is born;
and just like in the past,
daddy runs once more.
Mum has to feed
yet another hungry mouth,
alone; ………
……. and the cycle continues.

Dear humanity, it’s time to get our act together;
we must reclaim and rehabilitate the boy,
for our own sake.
We must find a way to mentor society’s boys
to become responsible citizens.
We must teach them
how to walk tall and away from trouble.
We must raise confident young men
who have emotional stability and relate well
with family, friends, and the community.

Boys who know that,
regardless of their current circumstances,
they can dream it, achieve it and live it;

………. they can become presidents too.