So much is said
Of the misgivings
frustrations
sadness
depression
rights
of man
so little of the
Responsibilities
of Man
don’t get me wrong
after all is said and done
none of us
control
our destiny
unfold
but watch as fate
unloads its cart
of horrors
phantoms
delights
delusios
dangerous distractions
from the sober call
of destiny
the vocation of work
everlasting work
work that never pays
work that never ends
and so
our society
is one where men
no longer win bread
but men
are rightless
pennyless
but not thingless
reliant on music
as food
condemned
as idiots
to make a trap
for fools
so do not speak to me
of our ills
for you do not know
of the responsibilities
of man
to restore order to chaos
to calm the roaring seas
to relight the emerald fire
to reunite the lost lovers
and forgive their old partners
to unite man and woman, man and man, woman and woman, woman and man
to bring balance
and with balance
unity
with a priority
for the eternal spirit
that is the true responsibility
and dignity
of man
not a slave
nor a master
nay
a servant
of humanity
a guardian
of women
and children
a bringer of peace
not wager of war
a knight or a steward
courageous or cowardly
but never ignorant
of the suffering
of others
nor unaware
of his historic fate
so let fate
sort out this riddle
and let the binary
become fantasy
and unity
reality
beyond the responsibilities
of woman
and her man
Edmund Wilson 