I will teach my boys to be dangerous men

To pick white flowers for all of their friends

And to think of patience when they think of strength

And if a sister cries, you cry with them

I’ll teach them to stop before they descend

Too deep in their pain for those who depend

On us to feel safe, to keep them all warm

And when you feel the cold you knock on the door

And hope someone like you is there keeping watch

To tap you out and make your bed

Then sharpen your sword and kiss your head

And die as a man who knows what it meant

To be remembered for love

And the kindness he spent

I will teach my boys to be dangerous men

In a world where danger is simply the norm

The dangerous thing is not to conform

The dangerous thing is not to watch porn

Not to base love on a paid performance

But in the soft silence of three in the morning

Where their love is safe, sleeping

Just bringing them water

To know that it’s not in the wars that you wage

But your choosing to love despite all the rage

I will teach my boys to be dangerous men

And not be naive enough to pretend

That they won’t have to fight for the ones they defend

But if you must fight, fight to never again

I will teach my boys to be light when they can

And know in the darkness to reach for my hand

I will teach my boys to be dangerous men

So the danger for all of us finally ends

by Lucas Jones