what is a man, what makes him so
who gets respect that we bestow?
what are the borders and their ends
how are we classifying men?
with these people and in this place
a man is a specific case
not a human person
with a set of human needs
not a thing of love
but a thing of acts and deeds
man is a set of expectations
we receive as patrimony
an image and an accusation
the obligation is boloney
manhood is not granted
by your rights of birth
it's the pressures planted
suggestions of your worth
the measure by which you pass or fail
perform or be prejudged
act in the play, or be excluded
no middle way is trudged
manhood is conferred
by the respect of other men
and it must be reasserted
again and again
to be a man, and to be granted
the privileges allotted
participate as if it were
injustice was unspotted
what is a man, what makes us so?
the simple display of a man-show