It was a man
Some man
A specific sort of prick
Who started the idea
Of power
Over women
Not with them
That idea caught on
As something scary
Entirely scary
To everyone
Not just women
It was a man
That pushed his way across the room
In front of your children
Into your face
And down your throat
It was a man
In particular
And it was every man
In between those two
That has suffered
From a fear
Of this scary idea
We must all dominate you
Provide for you
Perform at our best
And conceal all tender sighs
And it is this man
In particular
Myself specifically
Who respects that scary idea
Inside himself
With fear
And occasionally stops worrying about
What it does to you
Long enough to worry about
What it does
To himself
Long enough to hate
For a moment
The man down your throat
His lazy acceptance
Of this scary thing
Inside of him
Fed to him
That told him it was okay
That told him hitting you
Was appropriate
It is this man, still
This man I am
That struggles
With understanding
That man
Too
Because the same voice that told you to stay with him
Told him to make you leave
It is a big, scary thing
That voice
You are one woman
Though
In the know
And someone who took the chance
To see that voice
Objectively
One woman
Much later
Aware
Of what
Was there
Then
Now
We are not to be forgiven
For our sins against you
We are not to be lamented
For our side of the pain
We are expected to be brilliant
And that should still remain
We are required to be open
To the power we've been given
To use it for good
To give it away
And
To notice
Yours
Too.
We cannot undo the guns at our sides
We use them to pee
But we use them to plant
Just as easily
As we use them to kill
Now you are one woman
With room for one last man
A specific sort of man
And I am just one man
Who cannot change the world
At once
But can explain it
Over and over again
And I will show you what
Your one last man can do
From a lens reserved for my eyes only
And give you a glimpse
Of what real is
Really what is
I ask only that you keep
Covering your ears
To the scary voice screaming
When that one last man
Finally
Whispers softly
Into them.
Some man
A specific sort of prick
Who started the idea
Of power
Over women
Not with them
That idea caught on
As something scary
Entirely scary
To everyone
Not just women
It was a man
That pushed his way across the room
In front of your children
Into your face
And down your throat
It was a man
In particular
And it was every man
In between those two
That has suffered
From a fear
Of this scary idea
We must all dominate you
Provide for you
Perform at our best
And conceal all tender sighs
And it is this man
In particular
Myself specifically
Who respects that scary idea
Inside himself
With fear
And occasionally stops worrying about
What it does to you
Long enough to worry about
What it does
To himself
Long enough to hate
For a moment
The man down your throat
His lazy acceptance
Of this scary thing
Inside of him
Fed to him
That told him it was okay
That told him hitting you
Was appropriate
It is this man, still
This man I am
That struggles
With understanding
That man
Too
Because the same voice that told you to stay with him
Told him to make you leave
It is a big, scary thing
That voice
You are one woman
Though
In the know
And someone who took the chance
To see that voice
Objectively
One woman
Much later
Aware
Of what
Was there
Then
Now
We are not to be forgiven
For our sins against you
We are not to be lamented
For our side of the pain
We are expected to be brilliant
And that should still remain
We are required to be open
To the power we've been given
To use it for good
To give it away
And
To notice
Yours
Too.
We cannot undo the guns at our sides
We use them to pee
But we use them to plant
Just as easily
As we use them to kill
Now you are one woman
With room for one last man
A specific sort of man
And I am just one man
Who cannot change the world
At once
But can explain it
Over and over again
And I will show you what
Your one last man can do
From a lens reserved for my eyes only
And give you a glimpse
Of what real is
Really what is
I ask only that you keep
Covering your ears
To the scary voice screaming
When that one last man
Finally
Whispers softly
Into them.
