For the Men Who Are Seriously Trying, and the Women Who Understand It's a Struggle

Woman

I was taught to open doors
and to let you go through first
pull out chairs, do the gentlemanly thing,
like carry bags, whether you needed me to or not, I should
lift heavy objects, walk you to your porch
make sure you were taken care of first
because it was needed
I was your support, your strength, and somehow it superceded
loving you,
understanding you,
getting to know you better
see, I was taught to treasure women
before I was taught what a woman was

and granted, I agree these things are needed
chivalry is a duty I feel women deserve
but first, as a man, I must learn to understand the being
far from helpless
a woman's strength matches and far often excedes mine
I can't count the times behind a man
I've found a stronger woman, and I'd be lying
if I said I understand women completely
there's this majestic complexity that lifts them out my bounds
but always makes me needy
just to be nestled somewhere near her chosen ground
woman
giver of life, sustainer of breath, nurturer
she's suckled me through my darkest days
protecting me from my madness, and reminded me of brighter days
there's a light in her smile, resolution in her hips
the dreams don't fall quite as fast from the sky
due to the calming of her lips
woman
a creature so divine that man has historically lost his mind
only to invent more insane ways that he can
pledge his devotion to her
woman
buckled beneath my pain, she'll split her heart in two
the half that loves me buried within the half that desires to make it through
serene from a distance, a queen and a vixen, supreme creation, ultimate temptation
words can't aptly describe her
woman

and all the woes and the worry, and all of the wounds
that men and women continue to cause each other
can't make us quit bearing these crosses
we continue to hang it all on one another
because
a good woman is a sunrise symphony
while a bad woman is a midnight's scream
but no woman
is an awkward silence, this lonely purgatory in between
knowing your entire life something's missing
and knowing exactly where it exists
but unable to motivate heart, mind, body, and soul
you escort her by the wrists
pulling out chairs, carrying bags,
opening doors and waiting for her to pass by
but never once bothering
to understand her
or all the reasons why
a man loves a woman