Wolves

Despite the fact that I enjoy poetry and dabble in it a bit, I don't remember many poems.

There is one though...that sticks with me.
Maybe its because of the who, the when and the where it was shared.
Maybe its because I'm a sap.
Maybe it's just a good poem.


There are Men Too Gentle to Live Among Wolves
James Kavanaugh


There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who prey upon them with IBM eyes
And sell their hearts and guts for martinis at noon.
There are men too gentle for a savage world
Who dream instead of snow and children and Halloween
And wonder if the leaves will change their color soon.


There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who anoint them for burial with greedy claws
And murder them for a merchant's profit and gain.
There are men too gentle for a corporate world
Who dream instead of candied apples and Ferris wheels
And pause to hear the distant whistle of a train.


There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who devour them with eager appetite and search
For other men to prey upon and suck their childhood dry.
There are men too gentle for an accountant's world
Who dream instead of Easter eggs and fragrant grass
And search for beauty in the mystery of the sky.


There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who toss them like a lost and wounded dove.
Such gentle men are lonely in a merchant's world,
Unless they have a gentle one to love.

Of the book "There are Men" Kavanaugh says,"This is a book born...in the pain of ending one life and beginning another...in the excitement of finding life's meaning."
That quote nails why I love this poem.


This poem makes me think of the pain I've gone through ending one life and beginning another. This has not been an easy trip. It hasn't been especially fun. There has been (and will continue to be) pain and tears and hurt and anger. I've been frustrated, dejected and confused.


There has also been happiness. And peace. There has been love and friendship and connections made that I would have never expected. There has been self respect and self worth. And smiles and laughter and amazing things I only thought I had felt before but never really felt.
And, I'm not even halfway finished.


In other words, if you want to know more about what makes me tick, read this poem.
All I know is I wouldn't trade this trip for anything.
Be well.