“Skin Too Thick” by Fadrian Adrian Bartley

Fadrian Bartley is Jamaican creative writer, his poems appeared in various online journals and magazines including Pulsebeat and Gulmohur Quarterly, Fadrian focus in writing is based upon life, nature, and personalities; his inspiration comes from within.

A Word from the Author:

We all struggle with internal battles. and while most women find the courage to voiced their own opinions whether through poems, music, counseling, or so forth, men on the other hard overshadowed their soft spot beneath their thick skin, using behavior to express their emotion rather than using the tool of art, especially poetry, i feel the need to express through this poem that will speak to that reader on the same journey.

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let us hold men in our hands to feel their rough edges between our fingers,

and massage their temper before we misunderstand.
let us submit our attention
and allow the moment to breathe,
so their inner voice will speak through puffing cigars. 
let us speak to them in silence

let them know that giants cannot crush the rain with bare hands.
or sweep away the river with their lashes.
let them feel comfortable to empty their soul
and release the clogged tunnel in their veins,
let them know that petals bleed when no one is looking.