Growing up is a little different for males in a society that sets unrealistic goals for men. In these poems, Oladosu Michael Emerald writes about his adventurous transition from boyhood to manhood. These poems tell a story that many are not bold enough to write and we are so touched by the poet’s courage.

-Editorial Team

Man of Sorrow

I’m not afraid of death.

I’m just scared of the moment

–When my light would fade off
this earth and when my soul
would quench.

If I bite the dust
and fade away with the wind,

Hang my pictures
on the wall of your heart.

Remember me.

Keep my memories safe.

It’s better to die
in a battlefield with honor
Than to run out of fear

Drown in my tears
biting the dust

Waving to the world
That my departure is now.

Death find its subject
Even if someone is warned

Tell Mama

Fire dies, its ashes
bear its memory with

a winding sheet of white fuzz.
Plantain dies,
its young, takes its place

Tell Mama,
that the boy she birthed has passed away
With the last autumn air
He’s become a man
The new man who gunned down the boy
& resurrected the man in himself

Tell Mama
that her son has become a
charming demon,
a bulwark for the captives
He’s a mountain, rigidly erected
above the ground,
He’s like a thief- demander of absolutes

Tell Mama,
That growing up was never an easy task
Her son became like the ground,
Stony, rough and hard.

About The Author

Oladosu Michael Emerald writes from Ogun State, Nigeria. He is a poet, an artist, an actor, and a worshipper of music, who gathers muse from personal experiences, happenings in society, and nature. He has a silvery voice that etches in the heart of his audience.

Photo by Spencer Selover from Pexels

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