Where Are The Men?

Written during the worst fortnight I've ever experienced.

Where are the men?

The men with the broken macho button
The men who wear the emotional shirtsleeves

Where are the men who comprehend?
Where are the men who understand?

Who comprehend the pain
Who understand the loss

Where are these enlightened souls?

Where are the men who carry on with their lives
despite the loss of an embryonic life?

Where are the men who have rock-solid faith
even though they are privy to the occurrence
be it multiple times or only once?

Where are the men who may boldly question
the existence of a loving God, but accept the
silence with the stoicism of a marble statue?

Where are these men?

If I knew, I wouldn’t feel like a lone gunman.

The lone gunmen predicted the fall of the
Manhattan Gemini at least six months before
on a canned television program

And I had the nagging suspicion on my side,
because my faith in the dogma of empiricism
has yet to betray me

And the dogma of empiricism has smashed
the axiom of common sense multiple times

So much for the third time being the charm

Who knows if this event really was the third time?

Family and friends tell me that I should have hope,
but all I know is that Hope is a small town in
North Dakota that lost one of it’s own shining stars
not so long ago

Hope is a fucked-up place like any other
in this fucked-up world, and so are all the
other towns on the rail route between
Casselton and Tolna

Again I ask, where are the men?

Where are these stoic individuals who
don’t speak about their pain, speak about
their emotion as being a non-producer?

Being a November Zero in other words,
but still having the faith to press on
like St. Paul during the Roman reign

I wish I had their strong convictions
I wish I had their steel constitutions
I wish I was one of them

But I am not.

And why not?

Because it won’t happen to me

Author's Note

I live in the town at the very top of the map.

Reviews

[Jvl narasimharao]

There is great pain in the poem.You have written with great emotional empathy.JVL

[Kenneth The Poet]

Thanks so much, JVL.

[Priyanka Natesh]

It's the same story everywhere!Well,atleast there are people who mourn the loss :P Great piece.Thank you.

[Crowley]

Wow...pain filled poem with a biting message and one that I cannot readily answer. As I man I am never sure what my role is supposed to be. Is it a concoction cooked up by society, religion and expectation, or do I dare be who I am if it fly's in the face of establishment. Maybe I am just supposed to be the man that I am...which would be awesome...cuz I think that's how its gonna pan out anyway. Great social comment and great writing, I liked this alot.

[Droll Prole]

I mourn the passing of the gentleman haha, nobody even knows what a man is nowadays but in my opinion this is the poem of an educated intelligent man, kudos to you :)

[Sunflower/Sara Kendrick]

Interesting topic chosen on which to write this interesting work..Enjoyed reading this morning...Sunflower

[Audrey Howitt]

So this is the first of your works that I have read. Raw, painful, but with a kind of truth in it.

[Tate Morgan]

Oh so nice to see a fellow thinker

[Clay Feet]

Good men of high character and honor are numerous, but, unfortunately, seemingly outnumbered by those who are unscrupulous and low. I believe the media bombards us with the bad. Bad news sells. Beyond the age old cynical question posed by Diogenes, your thoughts raise important questions, age old and contemporary.

Disturbing yet masterfully written.

[Jake Staffeld]

A raw poem. I liked how you asked were something was, and made it seem like what you were really asking was what you would do.