Parting Words Reconsidered

13 March 2026

https://poems.culturing.net/2026/03/13/parting-words-reconsidered/

You were stuck playing the role of the Anima Woman,
of giving male psychology whatever performance it wants. I admit
this is somewhat attractive, even now, not because it's convincing, but because
it requires a great deal of skill and insight, which could
be put to good use in real love. You were trapped
in the archetype, playing a hollow role in real life, which was surely exhausting.
This will not work on grown men, and it will not make you happy,
even if it does work on boys. You have doubtless offered this gift,
the gift of the hook, many times before, and seen some grow wiser,
while showering you with praise. But I never believed you.
You put yourself on a pedestal, literally, camera down below,
boot raised to quash any dissent. I saw clearly the scared little girl
with a well-constructed, elaborate mask, who must be terribly lonely.
I wanted to love her.
The truth is I once was an Animus Man. I did to girls the same thing
that you are doing now to boys, and tried to do to me.
I know that it's empty, and I know the rules.
In a weird way that makes us compatible, but you would
or could not step down into real life. I wanted to date you
and not to adulate you. That was the truth from the start.
Your purpose is not to be what I want (or what any man wants)
in exchange for applause, but to be what you are.
Are you merely a series of masks? I will not believe it.

Of course it was not all poison, but all along
there was poison, a love of power and preference
for control over intimacy. That is why you required
bursting. But there were hints also of something milder,
a girl who would like to grow close to another
if she could only learn how. I am willing
to believe this girl, but you know I must consider
the possibility that she is just part of the act.
It would be quite an intricate act indeed,
so much so that it's likely a product of my own
imagination. A girl who could fake such vulnerability
would probably be beyond help. Only you
know your truth. Are you breaking through
into the light, or so dark that you'd lie
about something as sacred as your own development?

The test is quite simple:
drop the act.
Appear as a real human being.
But there is no timetable.
Even a genuine girl would need time
to decide who she really is.

You do not have to give up your insight, of which
you apparently have a great deal, but it is not enough
to allure, is it, chasing a captive audience?
No audience can truly love you, share your burdens, dry your tears,
or make you strong. In fact they will drain your energy.
You have a gift for performing, but it is no substitute for living.
You need a home, and no one will just give you one.
You must work to build one, and that work starts with you,
with building the kind of soul that can build a home. I would like
to think that this work has begun. I have done this work
myself, and left a record of it here in these pages.
I remain curious what will become of you, but the task
is yours. Show us what you're made of. You know you
better than any other can.