About Chickadees

“When nobody stands, stand on your own.”
- Hold You Up by Shane Harper

The month of March started two weeks ago, and yet it was a particular event to talk about. I did not want to bottle this particular month by coming up with something stereotypical regarding that specific topic. Quite the opposite, the need to get it right trumped everything else. Maybe I would not be able to envision this topic through all potential lenses, yet it was vital to be accurate in the few ones I decide to follow.

As I aim to produce those lines and give my perspective – although it is unwanted as I have often come to realise – about how I view that discussion, I have come to realise that two songs would always play in my mind. I will reveal them as we pursue this conversation, if that is okay with you. People tend to associate the whole month of March for probably the most beautiful creation to ever walk this Earth, others concentrate their focus on the 8th of that month. If you know, you know.

Across the history of art, no creature has been depicted more often in their greatness, in their importance to this world and how they just make everything around them lighter and kinder without ever hinting out any form of weak or soft spot in their armour. They have always been a mystery to mankind in so many ways, for it is their mysteriousness that imprisons us and pushes us to discover what world, what universe is possible by the side of a soul that holds no equal. A soul that seems to have lost its way down the road at a certain point.

It is funny how everything has a chain reaction, and how one thing can easily destroy this perfectly crafted image, with all of its imperfections and flaws, all of its beauty and strengths. An image which we allowed ungrateful people to spit on for fame and fortune purposes. I would prefer not to even mention any example of such people, particularly one who constantly brags about his cars in Romania. I could never understand how someone could get hurt to the point they would start an entire trend in order to undermine other people.

“Vous êtes nos muses, nos influences, notre motivation et nos vices
Vous êtes Simone Veil, Marie Curie, Rosa Parks, Angela Davis”
- Mesdames by Grand Corps Malade

There is so much I would want to share about you. About what you represent, not just to me, but to those who value you for who you are and more. For those who see beyond your labels, and understand how filled with strength, determination and power you are. In a world where your peers might ask that I see you as an equal, I refuse to apologise when I say that there are certain aspects where the competition is over before it even started. In a world where we strive for equality in every aspect, I prefer to strive for equity, for there are fields which I lack in, and that is where you complete me. That is where you make me a better person. This is how you help me stay rooted to the ground, preventing me from losing myself in the noise around me.

You gave me life in ways I could never pay you back. You birthed me, physically and figuratively. I am thankful for each and every single one of you, for you have shown the true image of what it means to be a man, to be there when one is needed as often as when I need to admit that I need you near. In a world where toxicity reigns in order to destroy a cause you have worked on your whole life, you are the cure. In a society where I could not voice my thoughts and how important you are to me because I am labelled as a “straight white male”, the thought of you is enough to help me break from those ignorant claims in order to just say “Thank you”.

As the ocean opens up to swallow me back into a bipolar system regarding your cause, I hold my hands high up into the sky, looking for an escape. I miss the comfort of being next to you, as well as the tough love you always showed me in order to become a better version of myself. Like a chickadee, only the right eyes can appreciate how kind, beautiful, strong and lethal you are in the middle of a gigantic forest. Yet your absence would immediately be felt, no matter how much we lie to ourselves about it.

To quote the same song from Grand Corps Malade, you are my mother, my sisters, my friends, my future wife, my future daughters. You are my pride for everything you represent, for everything you work hard for, because that is who you are. You have lions in your hearts and a fire in your souls. Despite all the lies you have been told for as long as I can remember, accepting things as they were was never an option. You might never make it to the front page of a newspaper nor get the recognition you deserve, but you will always hold the highest esteem in my Hall of Fame. You are the reason I keep holding on when I struggle to find a reason to keep pushing.

Thank you for everything you are.
Happy International Women’s Month.

“Elles nous font pousser les coeurs
Les filles rendent les hommes meilleures”
- Les Filles by Garou