“Boys will be boys”

By Hypatia Artemisia

They tell me “boys will be boys”

“Its hard for men to control themselves”

My disgust is palpable.

You call yourself a man? You are no more

Than an beast.

Aristotle said man is a social animal

If one cannot exist in society, treat fellow members

Of one’s society with a just and gentle hand

Then what right does one possess

To call oneself a man?

If boys can be boys, then why can’t girls be girls?

Girls — we cease to be children even when we are still children

Our bodies are turned into objects, ornaments, spectacles

Our bodies are no longer ours, they belong to the boys

Girls can’t be girls forever, but boys will always be boys

Always, always, always a boy

A child — a man-child

Stupid boy. Insolent boy. Spoiled boy.

Your petulance makes me chuckle

A cold mirthless chuckle, dripping with contempt

You could never fathom my pain.

The woman’s pain, a pain in the womb

Spreading to the stomach, lungs, heart, mind, soul

reverberating through the bones, crawling over the skin

Curdling the blood that gushes forth from the womb

You could never fathom a woman’s pain,

You insolent man-child.

So sit down, sit your ass down and tuck your balls in.

It’s my turn to speak.