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If the day dawns, at last, ‘Men’s Group’ (1) wants to address ‘loss’
(most feel in retirement), I’d jump at the chance! Let’s be fans!
I am loath to leave ‘Men’s Group,’ but moved too, to let go
(regret disappointment to members and self)! I crave free-
dom to follow my bliss with eyes open, hate shutdown
by friend’s eyes glossed over, by love that costs too much to bear.

When Group size was addressed (as the years brought attrition) (2)
with members unschooled in the weltschmerz (3) of “Men, Sex, and Pow’r,” (4)
the men left wished to share ‘truths’ presented (with others).
Does Logos (what we judge Divine) mean we know our truth’s True?
Is ‘Truth’ Eros (romance owns your life)? Is Truth muscles
(that Yin shares), Yang’s weakness (that listens)? (5) Can acts bridge abyss!
*
*
Men’s Group asks men to grok that true purpose can’t crisscross
from gender to gender. Do harbors of fair sex mean man’s
a lost cause? Should the flip side of Truth be True also?
Does self-love suggest we should value same-sex first, (6) debris
of past eros a sign we aren’t flavorless pronouns
(with sex unimportant, transparent), or sin to compare?

Males can never grok women; our love’s a rendition
of what we count courtship, our truth, and great sex can’t devour
the prime cuts both are missing. Like dewdrops are druthers
(on green grass) that dim as day dawns! We should not misconstrue
who best friends are (same-sex wins), yet thank God for tussles
on both sides! The best ‘Truth’ to live by found hidden in KISS! (7)


Brian Johnston
4th of April in 2021
Poet’s Notes:
I hope that the attentive reader will note that this is not a prose poem but, in
fact, is written in what I call ‘distant rhyme’ with strict meter.
(1) I have been a member of a men’s group (that meets weekly) for 30+ years.
(2) That two of the original ten members remain seems quite remarkable to me!
(3) Weltschmerz – a word that suggests pain is both universal and profitable.
(4) “Men, Sex, and Power” – a CA enlightenment seminar founded by Justin
Sterling as an early reflection of the woman’s book “Our Bodies, Ourselves!”
The gist of it was that women need to experience the value of sharing with
the same sex, that no man can validate a woman’s experience (as no woman
can validate a man’s). Another book from these times suggested, “Men Are
From Mars, Women From Venus!” using metaphors from Roman Mythology.
(5) ‘Yin and Yang’ are references to Chinese cosmology that suggests that
seeming opposites are balancing forces of nature that together are greater than
their parts are.
(6) Men have more to learn from their brothers than women! Likewise, women
have more to learn from their sisters than men. A relationship with the opposite
sex, while valuable, can never affirm your authenticity or enable you to grok
yourself truly.
(7) The ‘KISS’ principle lovingly tells us all to “Keep it simple, Stupid!”
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