choke back
your tears and swallow down
the lump
lock away
your sorrows and forget
about love
cover up
your scars and hide away
the shame
don’t think
about failures or remember
those days
*****
drink beer
from the bottle and pretend to
like shots
say you
watch sports and keep track of
who’s top
fight the
right men and don’t act like
a nerd
don’t cry
like a girl and conceal when
you’re hurt
*****
don’t take
those pills you know better
than most
the counsellors
know nothing they’re snowflakes
they’re wrong
the silence
inside you is normal
you’re fine
just keep
breathing stop thinking and
man the fuck up