[Poem] Bullring

A Poem on Masculinity

Photo by Reza Madani on Unsplash

I've been to the bullring. I've seen them take
The calves who would not be branded as steak.
Those bovine boys may be hard on their line,
Though they never finished their mother's milk.
They see red amongst the farmyard ilk:
"Down with the pigs! They are socialist swine,
Trashing our natural, animal ways!"
Thrashing, I saw them with their eyes ablaze,
Devoid of the pasture, and of the combine.

The pundits admire the matador's flare,
How he grabs the horns of fear - how he dares!
And lassos the hearts of herds in the crowd.
But this is a show. He's angered the brood,
Letting him butcher and slaughter their mood.
Yet, ruminate on why they moo so loud:
With no fathers their minds have turned to brie.
This rage is a product of industry.
I've seen through the bullshit. I am not proud.

Bullring ~ A Poem by Tom Shaw

This poem came as a result of me reading my friend Tom Ed’s excellent write-up on the manosphere - a concept that, admittedly, meant very little to me until this piece. In short, this is the label that has been applied to the movement of male “influencers” pushing a very particular image of masculinity as an anti-feminist lifestyle. I’m aware such movements supposedly exist, but I’m admittedly yet to find anyone in my day-to-day activities who are anywhere close to the extremes that media documentaries are trying to present as an issue. “Other” Tom’s write-up has a much more pointed, opinionated style than what I personally write, but is nonetheless a great read and aligns with a lot of my own ideas on the subject.

Is the Manosphere the symptom or the cause..?

Masculinity and femininity should not be in opposition to each other - in fact, they are essential to each other. I suspect the pushing of a “manosphere” is meant to stoke a fake divide where there shouldn’t be one. What kind of image and “ideal” are we creating for future generations when we give in to keeping it alive?

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Your Turn

Metaphors and analogies are one of the most powerful tools we have in communicating and conveying value between us.

I’d love to see a poem from you that uses animal metaphors to explore something that matters to you. Maybe you want to consider the following:

• Do you have a “spirit animal” - and what does it represent to you?

• What is your earliest childhood memories of animals?

• If you were an animal, who would be your biggest predator?

Share your poetry in the comments with me - I’d love to read it, and I’m sure Tom Ed would too 👇

Thank you all for making time to read this piece. If you’d like to support me in bringing more poetry to the world, you can purchase my latest poetry book, Go Forth, Butterfly! direct from my website.

I look forward to bringing you more soon.

With gratitude,

Tom