Devastating at first occurrence,
later success makes denial easy.
Maybe too much was drunk, too tired,
or that new prescription,
or maybe someone else's fault.
Embarrassment and a feeling of loss
of persona hangs like a cloud.
But nature gives us
some time to adjust.
Read and quietly talk to others.
Learn to walk
with chin up and shoulders back.
Such a difficult passage makes for
a sympathetic bond with those
who have gone before.
For a while you will avoid
the risk of failure
with an excuse.
A laugh at the old headache line
you heard when the kids were small.
Such a laugh is the beginning of the
humor script.
The main character in this play
is not allowed to take himself
too seriously.
And then comes the day of rebirth.
That was not
all you were.
Others have adjusted.
You are too powerful
to be stopped by this.
It is just time for
a stylistic change.
Seek pleasure by giving pleasure,
satisfaction by satisfying.
Wire around the loss.
Learn to meditate
Learn to talk.
Learn to touch.
Learn to hold.
And the special passage
will take you to a warmer
and fairer land.
No longer just a masculine stud,
now an appreciated lover.
And so it is with survivors.
Each passage is to a better place.
Each challenging change
welcomed with confidence.
Conquest is now of the self.
Can facing death
be too different?
Shoulders back