Tears are a sign of weakness.

When I was young
Toddling along, a bawling infant
Tears were met with kindly pats;
Vulnerable, weakness was acceptable.

When I'd grown a little
More aware of the cruel world.
Tears were dealt with harshly;
Boys should not cry, so I was told.

When I was a teenager
Into cool stuff, doing cool things
Tears were not in, they were mocked;
Insensitive peers, unkind society.

Now I'm all grown up
My tear glands are meant to shrivel up.
For glistening eyes are telltale of weakness;
And weaklings are swallowed by reality.

But I am only human; which human is not weak?
A strong facade serves only as a temporary respite.
An iron mask hides my insecurity, my fragile soul;

And the tears still flow...

Author's note: Editor was Pigsie, yet again. Hope you like it ^_^. And once again, my paragraphing got screwed up. Ah well...