Tough Skins, Tender Hearts: Mental Health & Healing Poetry-verse

By Sameer Kochure

       The mind tells us beautiful stories,

               But a man's heart lays bare the truth. - Sameer Kochure.

Welcome to an unveiling, an understanding, an unravelling of the man's heart.

As painlessly as possible, we will rip open a man's ribcage and put the soft, quietly beating muscle under our microscope, in an effort to unlock its mysteries.

What will we find?

Perhaps some hope, some desires, some fears.

A few battle hardened scars, way too personal dreams, wounds yet to heal, maybe a tender moment or two.

Maybe something more?

Let's go and explore.

★★★★★

At the turn of the decade, Amazon No. 1 bestselling author Sameer Kochure observed that most of the poetry books ever written about women were either about their beauty, heartbreak or love.

He didn't find a single poetry book that spoke about the moral fortitude of women. So, in 2021, he wrote one. His book 'Made of Flowers and Steel' celebrates the raw grit and the inner strength it takes to be a woman in today's world.

Since then, he was looking for a good poetry book about men. There were hardly a few and most lacked depth, in his flawed opinion. So, he decided to right this wrong.

'Tough Skins, Tender Hearts' goes deeper below the surface and presents an honest, unfiltered look at the hearts of men.

It tackles their issues, their heartbreaks, their longings as well as their failings. Much like 'Made of Flowers and Steel', here you'll find poems that will surprise you, charm you and some that will even disturb you with their defiance and brazenness.

A man's heart is a complex labyrinth of emotions and ecstasies. In here, you'll find temptations, thrills and a whole lot of tenderness.

96 Poems - 1 Unmissable Collection

★★★★★

Originally from India, Sameer Kochure now lives in Dubai and dreams of being 1/10th as good as some of his favourite authors like Rumi, Kahlil Gibran, Neil Gaiman, Richard Bach, Paulo Coelho, and JK Rowling.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sameer Kochure
• Release date: Jul 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223800934

Sameer Kochure

Sameer Kochure was born in India during the darkest part of the night. Probably explains why he is such a self-proclaimed dreamer. He has lived in 6 cities and 3 countries since. He has also clocked in 12 years as a Creative Director in some of the biggest advertising agencies across Asia Pacific. He lives in Dubai, but claims that anywhere he travels, he feels he is home.

Book preview

Tough Skins, Tender Hearts

TOUGH SKINS, TENDER HEARTS

POEMS ABOUT MEN, FOR EVERYONE WHO LOVES THEM.

MENTAL HEALTH & HEALING POETRY-VERSE

SAMEER KOCHURE

In its essence, poetry is the subtle alchemy of a sensitive soul.

LINDA GOODMAN.

CONTENTS

Prologue

1. Breaking

2. Fatherhood

3. Tough Skins, Tender Hearts

4. Making Love

5. Idiot

6. Survive

7. Tease

8. No Fight

9. Courage

10. Bricks and Bridges

11. Crack

12. You know, right?

13. Permanence

14. Dads and Daughters

15. Vroom, vroom!

16. Build Us Up

17. Be A Man

18. Ration

19. Sons and Daughters

20. Worldly Ambitions

21. In it Together

22. Unknown Terrain

23. Bleed to Heal

24. Fire and Steel

25. Shoes

26. Lack in Another

27. Make my day

28. A Timeless Tale

29. How I Wish

30. Because of You

31. Scrambled

32. Living The Nightmare

33. It’s a Match!

34. Iron-Clad

35. The Midnight Visit

36. Japanese Art for the Soul

37. You’ll Never Know

38. Five Letter Word

39. Wisdom Gained

40. Absolute Chaos

41. Doubt

42. Languish

43. Insecurities - IYKYK

44. Compliance

45. Tethered

46. Bias

47. The New Normal

48. Abnormal

49. Typecast

50. Consent

51. Purpose

52. Issues

53. Non-Negotiable

54. Always Home

55. A Summer Song

56. Whoosh!

57. Responsibility

58. Abracadabra!

59. Contentment

60. Twin Flames

61. With You

62. Collide

63. The Perfect Duet

64. The End of Time

65. Buzzz!

66. PDA

67. Kindling

68. Equilibrium

69. Unwell

70. Poof!

71. Eternal

72. Survivor

73. Pocketful

74. Own It.

75. Home

76. The Bro Code

77. Crumbling

78. Never Alone

79. Ready

80. Magic!

81. Sa Re Ga Ma…

82. Don’t

83. Purpose

84. Respect

85. Let Go

86. The Blank Cheque

87. Success

88. Unbroken

89. Chasm

90. Kind

91. Executive Orders

92. Heads Up

93. Give to Keep

94. The Mountain

95. Look Out

96. A Table For Two

97. From the Author’s Desk

98. Ambush

99. The Blue Bowl

100. Are you a generous reader?

Acknowledgments

Also by Sameer Kochure

About the Author

Buy or Borrow

Gratitude

To my Aai,

Sunanda Pramod Kochure,

the toughest tender heart

I will ever know.

PROLOGUE

The mind tells us beautiful stories,

But a man’s heart lays bare the truth.

SAMEER KOCHURE

Welcome to an unveiling, an understanding, an unravelling of the man’s heart.

As painlessly as possible, we will rip open a man’s ribcage and put the soft, quietly beating muscle under our microscope, in an effort to unlock its mysteries.

What will we find?

Perhaps some hope, some desires, some fears.

A few battle hardened scars, way too personal dreams, wounds yet to heal, maybe a tender moment or two.

Maybe something more?

Let’s go and explore.

Love,

Sameer Kochure.

19 - 07 - 2023.

BREAKING

i tried to write a poem

about men’s issues…

there was a fairly short list

of