My father is a man's man:
dark, tall and imposing,
he commands the respect
of other men
through his words,
his actions and deeds.

He continues to teach me
what it is to be a man
and even though I'm grown -
by the world's standards -
I continue to sit at his knee
and learn the things that men
need to know in order to live
as men.

He has taught me of the
practical things that a man
must know to keep chaos at bay;
the household maintenance of
minor and major appliances
and structural integrity,
among other menial
but necessary tasks.

Of the Laws of Mens Relations:

A man who comes into
another man's house
must pay his respects
and deal with that man
directly..and a son
must always come to his father
first.

A man who takes
another man's money
is in debt to that man and
must listen to his advice,
even if he doesn't heed it.

A man who deals
only with women is not a man
and is despised by other men;
called mama's boy, and other terms
too ugly to mention.

A man respects all women
and treats them
the way he wants his mother,
wife and daughters
to be treated, despite the words
and actions of some.

A man doesn't cry in front of
other men unless
faced with death, or
entangled within the bonds
of trials and tribulation,
binding them as one
in brotherhood.

A man acknowledges his responsibility
to his family, his community and
to other men and lives by a
code of honor
that allows him to stand,
tall and proud,
in the company of other men.

A man knows the importance of
keeping his word
to those he respects -
as well as to those he doesn't -
in a world where doing so is
the exception rather than the rule.

Much of the above I have learned
by example,
while other things he has told me
directly; through admonishment, inference
and the formal training that a father
must share with his sons.

And yet there remain many, many more
codicils and exceptions, rules and laws
that bind men in solidarity against
the predations of egoistic affront.

The difficulty of living by mens laws
in the aquarian era of female ascendancy is
an illusion brought about by the
perversion of manhood by machismo's
fatal call during the martial days of
the patriarchy's age-old dominance.

According to my father, and other men,
it is really simple, in the end:
a man's got to do
what a man's got to do
to find peace in this world,
rather than strife.

But a real man will go through
the fiery flames of hell itself;
will conquer any obstacle in his way;
will battle any demons, inner or outer,
in order to arrive at that place
of respect, transcendence and love.

All else, is boyish pursuit.