To Be a Man (If only I could)

The Stone of Scone seems not insurmountable when initiation beckons.

Yet my endeavour to mount it terminated abruptly,

my lack of traction punctuated by the pride that preceded

the plummet, to the accompaniment of a soft cadence

of sardonic querying of my manhood.

 

Howls of desultory derision announced my arrival.

It used to be easy, being a man; no mantic ability required,

yet the unwritten, unspoken and unbending rules,

replaced recently by emotional intelligence,

                continue to pervert collective masculine history.

 

Man was born, worked, fought and died; it wasn’t hard.

Hitherto the labyrinth of feelings and emotion lay claim to my goal;

                my heart’s lips pine for that time long ago

                before the labret of Pan’s lance pierced the remnant

                of the dying breed of that bygone age.

 

How I beseech the universe, let me be a man again - if only I could!

Unspoken, unseen, unknown, yet so familiar, the past

                mocks me as I pass, with the admonition:

                to thine own self betray, not so much as this:

                no tears, no fears, not even a life at all.

 

Reviews

[Liza]

Brilliant use of the english language; it is a learning experience to read you. I often wondered who has it easier..men or women? I concluded neither. Though women or the feminine quality is to show all contrasts of emotion; society believes it is because we have a menstrual cycle that rules our seemingly chaotic behavior. I can cry and laugh simutaneously and the behavior is more acceptable. meanwhile men are trained to be soldiers; keep a poker face, to fight and protect the weaknesses of women and children. All the aggression and tension created from not having a healthy outlet of creative emotional expression is spilled onto war, sexual release and physical sports and competition or the seeds sowed into women reproducing in the act of love or realease of aggression.

[shoaib]

amazing work .. wow

[Larry Dyson]

"before the labret of Pan’s lance pierced the remnant

of the dying breed of that bygone age."
nicely phrased...

[Poetic Beauty]

This is an excellent poem. The last stanza really lets you know what is going through the mind of the narrator. Give me a protector and provider any day.

[*[[ Cadence ]]*]

Must agree with Chris: excellent!