Don’t speak to me of being tough
I bought that line through the years
I toughed it out despite my growing fears

Don’t speak to me of being cheery
Optimism is not the answer
When you gut is full of cancer

Don’t speak to me of being brave
I’ve been brave since school
I bought that stupid myth, now I feel a fool

Don’t speak to me of manhood
I lie here, living and decaying
I will not hear a word that you are saying

When I said I felt strange inside
She’ll be right is all you said
You thought that it was in my head

When I started to loose weight
When I began to sweat and shiver
You laughed that I had stuffed by liver

When I started shitting blood
You told me it would all work out
And told me that it was time to shout

Now you talk of our good times
As if they somehow even up the score
Really, they just don’t matter any more.

Now you have a job to do
My son will need a caring man to show him how its done
To live a life that is rich and full of fun.

When my son is 9 and crying from a fall
Don’t tell him to take it like a man
Hug him and support him in everyway you can

When my son is 15 and going to a dance
Don’t make him feel a failure if he doesn’t score
Tell that his time will come for this and so much more

When my son is 18 and finally has a car
Don’t encourage him to get pissed behind the wheel
Teach him to care. To love. To feel

Australian men are vulnerable just like all the rest
If you think that toughness means an Aussie bloke
I’ve news for you. It is just a sad malicious joke.

If you are an Aussie man here’s the message in this poem
Regardless of what you’re told, none of us are tough
If you can’t describe your GPs décor, you haven’t gone enough.