Take a stand and "be a man"

They say

But what is a man to me?

 

Is a man whose chest is hairy and burly

and whose biceps are ten inches wide?

Is a man whose smell is of oak and musk

and whose touch is coarse and dry?

Is a man whose knowledge of sports and cars

manlier than the thoughts in the head of mine?

 

Because I dare reject this notion set in motion.

Because if the definition I provided is so true,

Then where is my letter delivered by owl

Telling me that I, being a man, is fairly overdue.

I accept. I am no man.

I have no qualms and dare not start a feud

 

Fitting into this masculine mold has

Riddled my short-lived life with anxiety

The fear of not being a man 

Has left a boy lost in identity

What action to do? What saying to say? What thoughts to think? What life to pay? 

The fee being my soul. They reap my personality.

 

And I fear not knowing what to tell my son, 

A future man, if I choose to have one.

Being a man has not been to taught to I

The lessons has been deaf to my ears and blind to my eyes

But having lived a life, being a man has been redefined

And this profound, personal definition is what I came to find.

 

So I will tell my son in arms and kisses and lullabies

That being a man is being gentle and kind.

A man is someone who puts one step forward 

And are not emotionally or logically blind.

A man is vulnerable and open 

And his restraints are not his binds.

 

A man is a shield, protective and strong. 

A man holding back to learn and understand 

Is a man listening and seeing through the eyes of another.

It is a man holding out a helping hand

Imbued with empathy and warmth,

given to the struggling for a second chance.

 

So my son,

Be what I cannot be when I was at your age:

Be fearless and brave.

Be gentle and kind.

And most of all,

Be a man.