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BE A MAN, THEY SAY.
Be a man, they say.
All through the years,
At each turn in the road,
I've remembered.
Get on that train, they say
To basic training far away.
Don't shirk your duty,
Be a man.
Don't let him talk to you that way,
Clench you fist and enter the fray,
Don't turn away,
Be a man.
The winners been selected,
And it wasn't you,
But don't let rejection discourage,
Get right back up start all over again,
Be a man.
I hate to tell you this,
But the disease will win in the end,
Show us all how courageous you can be,
Be a man.
I've remembered,
But would I be less a man,
If only I could cry?
© Jim Kittelberger 2001.