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

[Rene Velez]

Ken they don't make men like them anymore, greed is the new master and has weakened the moral fiber of man, we are a weak representation of something that is great, we are climbing that ladder everyday my friend by writing and hopefully lighting that spark in that one individual that will have the fortitude that you speak of...always a pleasure.

[Helpless]

great job!

[Neva Flores Smith - Cha..]

Bravo to this well written and extremely well thought out piece.

[Blue Moon Ice Cream]

It does seem like we lack heroic men (and women) today. I like the way this was put together and the mention of hope/Hope, North Dakota.

[Nobody.]

Love it. Yeah! Where the f**k are they? If you find one, send him to my house....we'll start a revolution!

Well written man.
Cheers!

[WordNerd]

WOW AMAZING!!!

[realmwriter]

Bravo! If you could see me, you would see me standing on my chair as I read this clapping. No kidding that's what I wanted to do, was stand on my chair and clap, if it not for the fact that I'm in a public setting I would have. Absolutely one of the best poems I've ever had the pleasure to read, Thank You for writing this and Posting it here for us all to read.