A MAN

A man doesn’t whine at his losses.

A man doesn’t whimper and fret,

Or rail at the weight of his crosses

And ask life to rear him a pet.

A man doesn’t grudgingly labor

Or look upon toil as a blight;

A man doesn’t sneer at his neighbor

Or sneak from a cause that is right.

A man doesn’t sulk when another

Succeeds where his efforts have failed;

Doesn’t keep all his praise for the brother

Whose glory is publicly hailed;

And pass by the weak and the humble

As though they were not of his clay;

A man doesn’t ceaselessly grumble

When things are not going his way.

A man looks on woman as tender

And gentle, and stands at her side

At all times to guard and defend her,

And never to scorn or deride.

A man looks on life as a mission.

To serve, just so far as he can;

A man holds his noblest ambition

On earth is to live as a man.

~ Edgar A. Guest