The late Reverend Ike once said, “Give the man the power and the woman a flower.” Well what is true power as far as a man is concerned? To explore the answer to this question I’d like to go on one of my favorite poets, Edgar Guest. My spin on it will follow.
A Real Man by Edgar Guest
Men are of two kinds, and he
Was the kind I like to be.
Some preach their virtues, and a few
Express their lives by what they do.
That sort was he. No flowery praise
Or glibly spoken words of praise
Won friends for him. He wasn’t cheap
Or shallow, but his course ran deep,
And it was pure. You know the kind.
Not many in a life you find
Whose deeds outrun their words so far
That more than what they seem they are.
There are two kinds of lies as well:
The kind you live, the ones you tell.
Back through his years from age to youth
He never acted on untruth.
Out in the open light he fought
And didn’t care what others thought
Nor what they said about his fight
If he believed that he was right.
The only deeds he ever hid
Were acts of kindness that he did.
What speech he had was plain and blunt.
his was an unattractive front.
Yet children loved him; babe and boy
Played with the strength he could employ,
Without one fear, and they are fleet
To sense injustice and deceit.
No back door gossip linked his name
With any shady tale of shame.
He did not have to compromise
With evil-doers, shrewd and wise,
And Let them ply their vicious trade
Because of some past escapade.
Men are of two kinds, and he
Was of the kind I’d like to be.
No door at which he ever knocked
Against his manly form was locked.
If ever man on ear was free
An independent, it was he.
No broken pledge lost him respect,
He met all men with head erect,
And when he passed, I think there went
A soul to yonder firmament
So white, so splendid and so fine
It came almost to God’s design.
Here’s what I understand Edgar is saying that a real man is in a nutshell.
- Less talking and more walking
- Can’t be bought no matter the price
- He’s defined by his deeds not by his words
- Independent of the good opinions of others
- He’s honest
- He stands for something so as to not fall for anything
- He fights for what he believes is right
- He has integrity
- He doesn’t gossip
- What you see is what you get
- No hidden agenda
- People welcome a real man with open arms
- He’s firm but gentle
- He’s free
- He’s not interested in praise for the good deeds he does
- He’s independent
- His power comes from within
- He walks tall
- He walks erect
- He dies empty
That’s my spin on it.
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