Poetry is a form of literature that has traveled through histories and cultures. There are so many excellent quotes about the subject that any attempt to describe it myself would be in vain.
These five poems have a special place in my heart, but recently I’ve noticed that they challenge our notions of what it means to be a man in the 21st century.
Interpret these poems however you like, as these interpretations are obviously own, and even if you don’t agree or if you interpret them differently, I think there is a valuable lesson in each of them.
Hug O’ War, by Shel Silverstein
I will not play at tug o’ war.
I’d rather play at hug o’ war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins.
Do we become men once we start to believe the lie that we can’t play anymore? Or do we become men when we realize that not everyone should have received a trophy on their second grade soccer team? Complaining about the participation trophy has become cliché when it comes to stating what’s wrong with our society. Personally, I think it’s a cop-out and a lazy reaction. Shel Silverstein seems to say in this poem, ‘So what if we recognize the value in everyone’s participation? What’s wrong with having fun? Why does everything have to be a fight?’
She is the Creator, by Rumi
There’s a tradition that Muhammad said, “A wise man will listen and be led by
a woman, while an ignorant man will not.” Someone too fiercely drawn by animal
urges lacks kindness and the gentle affections
that keep men human.
Anger and sharp desiring are animal qualities. A
loving tenderness toward
women shows someone no longer pulled along by wanting.
The core of the feminine
comes directly as a ray of the sun. Not the earthy
figure you hear about in
love songs; there’s more to her mystery than that. You might say she’s not from
the manifest world at all, but the creator of it.
I once saw a blogger upset about Ariana Grande’s song ‘God is a Woman’ and I think to myself: How puny does your sense of manhood have to be to get so upset over such a statement? Obviously this individual wouldn’t be able to handle the works of Rumi. What I enjoy most about this piece is how subversive it is. So much literature has the masculine at the center of the universe, but this piece put the feminine in the center, this piece states that the feminine is the universe. Whether you agree with that statement or not, it’s content is refreshing and absolutely challenges the notion of what it means to be a man.
Angel, by Aleksandr Pushkin
At the gates of Eden stood a gentle angel,
with bowed head shinning,
while a gloomy, restless demon
flew over hell’s abyss
The spirit of denial, the spirit of doubt,
gazed upon the pure spirit
and for the first time obscurely felt
the instinctive warmth of tenderness
Quoth he: “Forgive me, I have seen you,
and your radiance has not been lost on me:
not everything in heaven I hated,
not everything on earth I scorned.”
All too often men are defined and define themselves from their past, or what they were told growing up. You are either a tough guy, or a wimp. You’re either a winner, or a loser. You’re either a man or a boy. To me, Pushkin writes that no matter what you’ve done, you are not beyond saving. Every day is a chance to rewrite your story.
The Sun Never Says, by Hafiz
“Even
After
All this time
The Sun never says to the Earth,
“You owe me.”
Look
What happens
With a love like that,
It lights the whole sky.”
So many men are told to withhold their love or to not express emotion, and to only open up to those who deserve it. But this poem says, to hell with that. The sun doesn’t shine on the something because it’s beautiful or because it worships the sun, it shines on everything: from the garden to the swamp. Hafiz reminds us that unconditional love is not a masculine trait, but neither is it a feminine trait; but a source that all of us can find sustenance in.
Ozymandias, by Percy Bysshe Shelley
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert… near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings;
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Ever since I started to explore poetry, I have discovered my all time favorite poem, and I believe it just so happens to succinctly challenge our notion of masculinity. For centuries, men have sought after glory. Today, celebrities are literally glorified for how much wealth they have accumulated. Power is defined by how much you can bench press and how good your dating game is.
But this poem sends the message that your glory is fleeting. That your wealth and your power will sooner or later fade away. For a society that glorifies riches, this poem is a stark reminder that ultimately it is meaningless. Ultimately, the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak, the masculine and the feminine; all leave this earth the same.
—
◊♦◊
“We Eat Stereotypes for Lunch” Email Signup Badge
If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project, please join us as a Premium Member, today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all-access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class, and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group, and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
Do you have previously published work that you would like to syndicate on The Good Men Project? Click here:
◊♦◊
Photo Credits: Álvaro Serrano