I, am a man.
I am a man other men want to be.
I have the hardened emotional exterior of a chitinous warrior beetle, the steely gaze of a patient predator and a nearly delusional disregard for my own safety.
When I walk, I swing with an elephantine grace. When I jump the world falls before me.
I have gone to war, bedded women, jumped from airplanes, struck out in righteous fury, drank too much, farted, swore in the presence of a lady, replaced an engine in a Jeep Wrangler, tossed rocks at a bee hive, climbed cliffs, leapt gorges, crushed walnuts in my hands and on my head, swam in a glacial lake, been stabbed, shot, beat up and kicked in the balls. I have stood in the desert and listened to the searing wind sing of peace, and butchered a frozen moose with my bare hands and rusty knives. I have volunteered for duties that many would not do if compelled by the force of law. I live my life by a simple credo, "Protect those you love, even at the expense of yourself."
I have been called a dinosaur, a relic, a soldier. I am all of those things and more.
I, am a man.
I am not a metro-sexual, a fancy lad, a gentleman or a hero. I bleed when I am cut, and my wounds hurt me, but you will never know, for my weakness are my own demon. I will not cry about hangnails or scuffed shoes. I do not color co-ordinate fashion accessories. I have never worn eyeliner. I will slip upon my own sword before getting a facial.
Claim your man hood! Eschew the urban trend of gender homogeneity! Do not walk quietly into Dillard's and buy a salmon sports coat! Your creator graced you with testicles, embrace your heritage, live the life of a man. Stand in the forest, on the mountains, in the desert, below a glacier, atop a building, and listen to the poetry of the earth. Hear the song of her wind, the call of her thunder. Feel the touch of her tears upon your cheek and the heat of her gaze upon your head. Listen to her tale of testosterone. Her whisper in the leaves is a call to duty, a call to inherit your gender. Put down your mocha espresso latte and clove cigarettes; pick up your destiny.
You, are a man.