What is this gauntlet of a man, <br />This state of being I must rise to? <br />I stand before it pale and wan, <br />What, makes a man of me or you? <br /> <br />I stand before this ancient door, <br />And look upon my brothers, <br />Before I cross I must know more, <br />What makes a man of others? <br /> <br />For some it's strength of body, <br />For others strength of mind. <br />Yet these are naught but symbols, gaudy, <br />Still the answer I must find. <br /> <br />Is manhood based on deeds of valour? <br />Courage when with death faced? <br />No, all men must face their deathly pallor, <br />So I must learn post haste. <br /> <br />What makes a man is not inside, <br />But something found elsewhere. <br />This problem's answer cannot hide. <br />Tis the woman of my prayers. <br /> <br />In The Garden he made she, <br />Two halves of one made whole. <br />So man cannot a full man be, <br />Till woman plays her role.<br /><br />Alexander Steen Stewart<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-gauntlet/
