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3.​ ​The burden that buries men

from Blessed is the Man by Dale Carl Fredrickson

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    Blessed is the man is the story of how men can grow their capacity for mutual LOVE and become openhearted, emotionally expressive, and relationally connected. It challenges toxic masculinity that has caused woman and children harm through unchecked anger, emotional repression, and self-reliant pride. This album uses poetry and the sounds of banjos, mandolins, saxophones, violins, and guitars to inspire men (and those who care about men) to let LOVE shape their lives and write their stories.

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lyrics

The burden that buries men

the day of my first bike crash
me all black-eyed,
bruised and needing stitches,
he all beer-breathed and tall
“toughen up,” he insisted.

the day of the championship
i dribbled right then left
bated breath
two seconds left
then shouts of joy
when i scored
the winning shot

but he didn’t show
and never called

words like
proud and well done
he never spoke
words like
i’m sorry
he never wrote

what i wanted from him
were tools he didn’t own

i promised myself
i’d never
be like my dad
i swore
i wouldn’t
follow his steps

live your life
bold hard proud
brazen and
unflinching
man up,
don’t be sorry
his hollow laugh
echos in my head

the burdens
of a father and a son
the gravity
of history

skin & bones
shouldering
this story

he died
with his dried up commitments,
left me
with my root-withering bitterness.


i wear my promise
over my heart
like a medal
i whisper
i’m not like you
over his grave

but i have his skin and bones
and i couldn’t change

tired from work
distant and indifferent
my son teary-eyed and lanky
You forgot to pick me up
and I waited for hours.
seared from his accusation
the realization, a painful truth:
I wasn’t there
when he needed me.

i’m terrified
somehow
i’ve become my dad
my body trembling
eyes low
he’s a warm planet
holding
my burdened body
in his orbit
A baptism
of hot tears
on my neck

credits

from Blessed is the Man, released July 24, 2020

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Dale Carl Fredrickson Denver, Colorado

Dale is a poet from Denver, Colorado. He’d like to inspire the entire world but finds that inspiring himself and his family and friends is work enough. He writes and speaks about beauty and misery and his favorite story is the one about how love surprises us in the end. He fails a lot. On his best days, he lives by Samuel Beckett’s motto, “Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” ... more

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