An apology to men. But especially to my dear friend, Levi. I drafted this idea after a conversation we had some time ago…about how women today seem to be permanently poised on a pedestal. Men built that pedestal for women out of love and out of support for equality…but women (some, not all) have now assumed that *high-and-mighty* role and have forgotten how to love and respect our counterparts. Women hold such high expectations for men. No, chivalry isn’t dead…but a woman will castrate a man if he forgets that. Yet when a man wishes to have his gestures and words reciprocated, he is called a selfish, needy bastard. Ladies…love your men. Drop the double standard. You cannot hold impossible expectations for him while failing to reciprocate. It takes two, not one, and I will always side with him if you treat him otherwise and he chooses to walk. He has every right to be a prince if you dare to call yourself a princess. To men…friends and strangers alike…I apologize for my sex leaving you in the dust and using you as a scapegoat for its problems. You are beautiful and worthy and deserving of unadulterated, no-strings-attached love just as much as she is. We love you, we do. We just forgot that respect begets love begets respect. #lovepoetryformen #fuckhallmark #loveyourfellowman #loveistheanswer #love #respect
(Text of poem beneath image for ease of reading.)
“You can be anything you want to be, baby,
because you are beautiful
because you are worth it;
you are a princess and deserve to be treated like one”
is what we spoon-feed our daughters…. Motivational speakers and bestselling authors
come out of the woodwork to host conferences
and banquets and whatevers to raise ‘awareness’
They speak of empowerment and girl power…
but what about Guy Power?
Little girls demand the treatment of princesses
so who’s to say that our men aren’t princes among princesses?
Women are not royalty.
We are not princess-turned-queen
like our mothers promised we’d be.
Women, like men, love ’em and leave ’em.
We say things that cut deep. We can be manipulative.
We can recognize weakness, and we can exploit it.
We hurt you.
We say one thing and do another.
We are confusing and selfish.
For all this and more…
I AM SORRY.
I am sorry that my sex has wronged its counterpart.
I am sorry that we took so much in our search for equality
that we have now abused that power you so willingly gave us.
You deserve better; it is not self-loving to love yourself
and to recognize your own value.
You are worthy of a woman who will treat you like a king.
While you are no king, and I no queen,
you are entitled to be shown true love and true respect
because you are HUMAN.
Not because of some sovereign privilege.
My dear men…you are beautiful, too;
if women get a scepter, you get a robe
if we get a crown, you get a bigger one.
Men and women aren’t really that different– we’re all just people trying to reach the pearly gates
with our hearts and humanity still intact.
There is no royalty. There is no sovereignty.
We were born, created, for one another…so let’s love one another.
When it’s all said and done, we all return to dust, do we not?
Whatever worth our crown jewels held
will be exhumed by Death and be no more.
The only thing that really matters is LOVE
given and received due to our own, beautiful birthright.