Below is a poem written by my older brother, Joe.

"The Strength of a Man"

"The strength of a man isn't seen in the width of his shoulders, but in the width of his arms that embrace you.

The strength of a man isn't in the deep tone of his voice, but in the gentle words he whispers in your ear.

The strength of a man isn't how many friends he has, but in how good a friend he is to his kids and his lady.

The strength of a man isn't in how respected he is at work, but in how he respects others.

The strength of a man isn't in how hard he hits, but in how tender he touches.

The strength of a man isn't in the hair on his chest, but in the heart that lies underneath it."

The strength of a man isn't in how many women he’s loved, but in how true he can be to one woman

The strength of a man isn't in the weight he can lift, but in the burdens he can carry

My brother wrote that poem along with a bunch of other ones in a poetry book he wrote years ago titled "Gift of a Child".

What I take from that poem is that my brother challenges all of the things we typically measure a man by and instead replace them with what we should measure any person by. I think we as men have this thing where we don't look at the big picture. We look at how people view us from their perspective rather than take a look at ourselves. That is where you get guys lying about girls they been with and guys that love to fight for little to no reason. Both scenarios are just a guy trying to overcompensate for some insecurity he himself has rather than just address the problems.

Anyway, when I was younger, when my brother first wrote that poem I wasn't too big a fan of it. But the older I get, the more I like it. There are a couple lines I never really understood, but my brother has been through a lot more than me and maybe I’ll understand with time. Or maybe I’ll never understand. I don’t know.