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Be The Treasure
Few buy the cow when getting milk for free.
For glance, or words, your worth should not depart.
Lass, be the treasure you were meant to be.
The revolution was a loss, you see;
The marriage age has risen on the chart.
Few buy the cow when getting milk for free.
Don’t end with babes, alone, in poverty
To wed, your price, the horse before the cart.
Lass, be the treasure you were meant to be.
Many, in haste, give up their purity;
Tasted, grown stale, discarded like a tart.
Few buy the cow when getting milk for free.
Build forts, post guards, arm the artillery
With knowledge, NO!, for the seducer’s art.
Lass, be the treasure you were meant to be.
You’re captain of your ship, your destiny;
Don’t ruin your life, when young, and break your heart.
Few buy the cow when getting milk for free.
O, Lass!
Lass! Be the treasure you were meant to be!
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The above was written to young women. The companion piece, “To Make A Man”, was written to young men and can be found here:
https://thebardonthehill.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/to-make-a-man-by-dennis-lange/
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© Dennis Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2011.
The Bard on the Hill 
There’s something about this poem that bothers me – I think it’s the focus of a woman’s value being on her virginity or lack thereof. It’s well written, and interesting. I am concerned with lines like “the revolution was a loss”, it seems to say that women gained nothing of value except the freedom to be more sexually active. Lets not forget the things we did do right, like getting the vote, being in politics, getting into the work force and breaking glass ceilings (though there’s still work to be done there). Truly, virginity isn’t a big deal and women are so much more than that, and any man who has issue with that or values that above smarts, knowledge, honesty, etc. really is just as shallow as the woman who only sees her worth by the “eyes and words” of men. A lot of unmarried, non-virgin women, don’t give it away for free or without thought. I feel that this poem strips us of our own choices to have fun, to love as we wish. Men often see sex as a playful act, not concerned about emotion, and so do women…many do not equate sex with love; as I think the poem assumes here. A woman’s life is not ruined by loss of virginity, or by getting pregnant outside of a marriage – some choose it to be this way; and hearts can be broken with or without sex being in the equation.
I am glad to see a poem in the same vein for men, though I don’t find it nearly as derogatory or one-dimensional as this. There is nothing mentioned about masculinity being related to their sexuality, prowess, or “purity”. I do like what you present in “To Make a Man”, that a real man strives to better himself, where you could have gone on about physical aspects that make the man. I just wish you applied the same to the female version instead of just what seems in passing in the last stanza.
Both poems were written because of women being left by men to raise “fatherless” children, which generally produces poverty and many other societal problems. Many in our prisons come from those types of homes. “Be The Treasure” spoke of young women in that regard. The treasure that is a motivation for marriage and commitment is the sexual relationship. In the confining lines of a poem, I didn’t mean to infer that their virginity is their only treasure. Each human life is a treasure. The revolution in the poem was the sexual revolution. Women may have gained “the passing pleasures of sin” but are losers (as well as men) in regard to STD’S, abortion, the marriage age increasing, and being used and discarded. Young women have the power to control their lives in this regard by saying “no” (or even saying “no” after they have made the mistake with one). That’s when they can have it all – the pleasure AND the commitment to family. Such young women can help “raise” immature males who don’t see what it takes to make a man.
Great Poem, love the message and the writing style.
Great message and I must say an important message too.
Fashion and peer pressure to conform are powerful forces. It takes great courage to take a path that is considered wrong by all the indoctrinated sheep.
I really love these lines…
” You’re captain of your ship, your destiny;
Don’t ruin your life, when young, and break your heart”
so many do…it’s very true…