We are the Men
Who defended the tribe,
The women and children
Who carried the loads
Who built the homes
And the roads.
Who invented the machines
And the medicines
Which kept babes alive
And their mothers too.
Made domestic appliances
So the women could live
Long and healthy
And be free to pursue
Education and careers.
We are the men
Who supported the vote
And schools and jobs
for daughters and wives
And called ourselves feminists.
We are the men
Who were rewarded with lies
And took accusations of abuse
Lying down.
We did this because
We have always cared
For the victim and weak
And we knew that the claims
Were sometimes true
And so, we apologised.
We stood idly by
While women changed laws
To make us criminals
In the land we had built.
We have watched with despair
As our children are taken
And also our goods
For reasons and claims
We can scarcely follow
In courts that are run
By the accusers.
But, we are the men
Who have woken up from our sleep
Who see the injustice
And are ready to act.
The idea that a few
Radical feminist lies
Will keep us downtrod
Is a hilarious joke.
Because
We are the men!
Who can build and invent
And this we will do
Till a new balance is stuck
Where the talents of all
Are valued as being
Parts of the whole
With harmony restored.
This we will do
Because
We are the men.
Mike Bell
June 2019