Asking for forgiveness from women readers and apologising in advance, I post the following lines. There are many poems praising women. Very few written for the man. So decided to write a few lines about them. But then it grew very long and I realised, there’s much to be written about men.
Dedicated to the men in fifties. Who have suffered almost everything, that would have been there to suffer. Life is never easy. Not for men and certainly not for women.
Ode to the Man
They say a man is a brute
A cunning fox and a dirty swine
He aims for stars
Crushing women without remorse
Under his feet
Mother sisters wife and daughters
For him everyone is a tool
Brotherhood is his world
Getting wasted in bars his right
Yet a man is lonely
All his life
His sufferings all his own
To be dealt with
The fairer sex would say
That’s his own choice and deeds
If he ever comes to the point
Of sharing it
And he swallows everything
Hundreds of secrets
Of humiliations and losses
And shattered dreams
That never come out
He won’t share it
For they won’t understand
Rather misunderstand
Multiplying his misery
Though all he desires in those moments
A little silence and some space
Or some beer with friends
To heal
Yet the hounding never stops
His bosses his clients
His banks and lenders
Relatives and neighbor
All keep striking their blows
Without any end to it
At home sharp hooks of expectations
Pierce him everywhere
Tugging him all over the place
Pulling in every possible direction
Everyone wants a piece at least
Of his flesh
If they can’t own it
Entirely
Yes he is applauded and praised
By those he dearly loves
Gooey looks and tender touches
He receives in public sphere
Later at home
The same old script is played
Perplexed at the rapidity
And complexities of change
He gives up and stares
At the walls and ceiling
Though he knows
The answer’s not there
Almost every night he lies awake
Thinking hard and in vain
Tired at last he turns over
Pulls her closer
Stroking her head gently
Brushes away the strands
Falling across her face
Looking at her sleeping face
For a long long time
He smiles
A genuinely affectionate smile
©️ShashikantDudhgaonkar
