Toxic Masculinity Hang Out Poem by Phillip Nine Mafunga

As he walks under the moonlight skies
A tattered tent, all he has for the six dimensions of this life
A long walk into the ends of the world
The very horizon of masculinity as we knew it
All that is masculine is toxic now

He walks the banks of the slimy Mukuvis
That tries hard all year round to wash the city of its grime
The greasy water is all there is for his sustenance
Because he is male, maybe he deserves the suffering
No one seems to remember even an iota of good he ever rendered them

The public jury is outraged
Toxic masculinity, they cry out
He must provide but mustn't have a say in how the child is raised
He has lost all rights to self-defense
Now he walks the mosquito infested Muvisi River banks, all dejected n' alone.
27 December 2021
Phillip Nine Mafunga