Diminished Men Poem by Raj Dronamraju

The father of every man dilutes his rage into a couple of angry moments that stick with the son
And fuels his understanding of unfairness

He asked the scrapbook "why are there winners and losers? "
"How does violence replace communication in getting a point across? "

He worked a lifetime with his hands
Which was funny because he didn't like working with his hands
But he had a family to support
He took out his futility of effort on the youngest family members

Men made small by the cramping quarters of low expectations
Men diminished by employers saying no
Men diminished by women saying no

The process of chasing what they want but cannot get diminishes men
Humiliates men
Reduces men

On a roadcrew, he rakes gravel and pours tar and looks no further than that evening
Practices a dumb coping grasp of the present
What is a happy tired malevolence to everyone who knows him

I'll take my chance with negative inheritance
He came to that path with an open mind and a detachment
He was whatever size he chose to be
He took a limited future and built a higher platform on top of it like a children's treehouse