A Man of Stature

History repeats itself,
and now we must retreat,
to guns and bloody battlefields,
where good and evil meet.

Many men take pride in this;
a bold, submissive deed.
While mothers’ sons are dying out,
crying, “Freedom’s what we need!”

Fathers turn us into men;
they teach us how to thrive.
Without the lessons that we’ve learned
these states could not survive.

“You’re a man now, son,” they say
with such profound esteem.
They are all lined up to pat my back
and see that I recognize the dream.

I will fill my gun with powder,
and I will march along the streets
that are all lined with bodies
of men I’ll never get to meet.

My brothers stand beside me,
and I’m sure they’ll all agree,
if this is what a man is,
then a man is what I’ll be.