Still a Man

man- n. adult male person, as distinguished from a boy or a woman distinguish- v. to separate into kinds, classes, or categories separate- v. to set or keep apart apart- adv. exclude from consideration exclude- v. to prevent or restrict the entrance of restrict- v. to confine within bounds confine- n. something (as borders or walls) that encloses; something that restrains enclose- v. to hold in hold- v. to have possession or ownership of or have at one’s disposal disposal- n. systematic destruction I am a man distinguished by my features yet separated because the pigment of my skin. Set apart, alienated by my gender excluded from my right of passage, my induction ceremony into the congregation. Restricted from my rights and confined by their opposition. Enclosed in an envelope, signed in psychological chains, and sealed shut held together by adhesive loathing hand delivered by the “man” himself. Existing merely for their entertainment and thrown away at their disposal. By definition I am a man biologically crafted as a man brought into this world like any other man; but treated like an animal of an unknown species worthless, ignorant, uncultured. Like dominoes falling knocking down one after another; a chain reaction, their stupidity becomes my self empathy which formulates excuses that turn into an addiction and fuels my infidelity. My circumstances may have shaped my actions, and ultimately altered my future; but I am still a man.