
“No Man’s Land” by Bernard Dumaine
bourbon with bubble baths
meat loaf with manicures
beards with bald heads
shave their chest hair
and football is now but a
game played in fantasy
no men these days would
give up their seat or would
dare open doors for a lady
honor and pride are
no longer sufficient
rewards for one’s effort
it seems I have outlived
the role that my father
with diligence trained me
to play in fulfillment of
ancestral contracts
the blood oaths between
men whose culture
required a masculine dignity
shaped by old centuries
men who loved women
enough to behave at all
times as true gentlemen
it seems I have outlived
my place in this world
disagreement transcends
intellectual honesty
ethical principles fail
to obtain due respect
I am relic among the
advance of rogue values
here twisting and turning
within what’s become
my own living grave
unburied unmourned
From my book Human Waters
Good one. Lamenting over the decay of values in the modern world and trying to find one’s place where to fit in. Beautifully depicted.
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thank you most kindly
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No! Please don’t give up! Chivalry is not dead, and the world desperately needs men like you who may flesh out and so show what such dignity, respect, and manners look like.
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thanks, amy – not giving up – just running out of gas
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I feel much the same Paul…still hold doors open for gals young and old, always will. I only occasionally get the rebuff. Not a lot of young chaps make the point of walking the pavement roadside of a lady…this disappoints me I must say. A thought provoking piece this one!
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those double decker London buses can throw quite a splash
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Indeed!
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Seems we have all lost our way , when we can’t say thank you to someone opening a door, or giving up their seat. Sad these little rituals connected us to one another. Don’t give up!
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appreciate that
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Great study in contrasts.
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much appreciated
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Yeh. I hear ya!
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trying times for an old fashioned man
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then we are all relics…
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*sigh*
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Chivalry is not dead! My husband is proof of that, as well as my son! And I am finally seeing it more with the older 20s crowd. I’m hoping they’ll pass it down to their younger siblings. Excellent piece, Paul!
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I am thrilled to hear that – I must say I am also quite proud of my son who’s in his forties and my sons-in-law who are in their fifties
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Bravo to them! So nice to know gentlemen still exist 😃
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I miss the Gentlemen like my dad. Soon to be extinct!
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I’ll keep it going as long as I can
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Fortunately I’m a baby boomer who hasn’t forsaken the old ways. Nice post.
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appreciate that
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Any man who can pick out that amazing picture retains the sensibilities of a gentleman. There are a few gentlewomen in disguise who appreciate you.
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that’s very sweet of you
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Don’t say that! We were just talking about this today. These things don’t die. They go out of fashion but they return. Everything is cyclical, some things just take longer to orbit. People eventually figure what’s missing and seek it out again.
I hope to god that’s true. You’re no relic.
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perhaps I’m not – my son, sons-in-law and grandsons are carrying on quite nicely – but the world I see on TV (my social circles having dwindled with time) is utterly shameful
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You make a valid and interesting point, Paul. I fear that the portayal of our ‘culture’ on TV is at least partially responsible for inciting antagonism among other cultures and religions. It looks like we’re all raving mad, devoid of values and morals. I’ve wondered whether we are, in fact, creating our own negative propaganda. What other worlds see and perceive must be influenced by what streams through the media.
Thank god, it’s not the whole truth, but how many must believe that it is.
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I know it doesn’t reflect my experience, but I worry that it does reflect the culture at large – as Marshall McLuhan said a long time ago “We become what we behold”
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Well said. And I’m intrigued by the image you selected to accompany your verse.
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much appreciated
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