He Was Not An Example

He was not an example of how to live
It was just how he was
He hurt his lovers
And his mother
Only women who knew how to give

She worried about how he would live
But he didn’t
Because he took no stock in neighborhoods
Or cars or watches
Only if he could ever forgive

But a mother worries about these things
Because she knows she may outlive him
But he transcended being parented
Taking his life for his own was his gift
And though proud she drew fearful of his wings

He loved her
But he was free

What he thought
What he felt
What he cried over
Was who he was
And not what he ought

There were no more inhibitions
Pride was not considered
Useless notions of manhood were cast aside
He could walk alone
And accept the consternation of loved ones

He knew of no arbitrage in the market
No opportunism concerning values
He benefitted from no rise or retreat
There was no time to clutter his mind
For excess bounty is a rich man’s blanket

Not afraid to be hurt
Not minding it
Accepting it as necessary
Dignity in pain
Planting promise in the dirt

He didn’t care of what he was not
He knew his path
He knew of his choices
And his experience
Became his lot

His gifts were not a failure
He knew his portion was just
And he learned to enjoy his place
For he knew he was different
And sought what was right to his nature

He was a man of caution
But also one of persistence
He knew when to stop
And when to go
And when to show emotion

When he no longer needed another
He knew he would no longer suffer
Though he thought of love
It was not to complete him
For to him it had lost its wonder

To be able to receive
And to be able to give
It was only for others
It was not his concern
Except to those in need

He was an example of how to live
But not how to love
For he became a man unto himself
Answering only to responsibility
But for love unable to give