Man

I envied you today,
but not as I expressed;
I envied not your luck of mind,
instead, in fact, your chest
was what I envied you, so firm,
while mine hangs full of breast,
and that's not all I envied you,
I'll let you know the rest:

I envied green the slim green shadows
of your veins, under thin skin,
streaming so surely to'ards efficient
muscles, feeding them therein,
which, in their turn, could feed the mouths
of your wholesome, blood-bred children,
which nature hands you, nonchalant,
while mine, so kind, yet less than kin;

I envied weak your strength of birth,
your privileged position, ran
through in my head what crime, what
reason, rhyme, in me, born as I am,
and your God-given right to love,
contentment, family, life, canned
simplicity, for you are man,
for you are man, for you are man.