Man To Man Poem by Glen Martin Fitch

How does a child learn
what is right, what's wrong?
The cartoons stage
the magical and cruel.
Our parents preach.
Our peers know what is cool.
We're taught one must be
clever, quick and strong.
My elders tried
to slap in me 'some sense'
re: pregnancy and drink
and drugs and crime,
the consequence
of living in a time
of foreign wars
and local violence.
Once with my dad
I watched a western,
when a cowboy felled a bad guy
with one blow.
My father caught my eye.
His words were slow.
'I tried that once.
I learned my lesson then.'
And more than that advice
I won't forget
the ring of honesty,
his deep regret.