How I craved the physical,
the hot rush of blood
within my flesh, the might
of muscles flexed
to my will, the loop’s
quick flash secure
around the boney
feet of calves
in the branding pen—
no two quite the same,
how I welcomed them
as a measure of a man.
drycrikjournal 
Just one measure of a man, John.
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Of course. Back in the day when kids could work, I finally became a man when I could earn a man’s wages, not when I first had sex. Antiquated times before the ready availability of the pill, we turned our testosterone loose to the approving cheers of older men, and younger women when they were around–not too much different than bulls sparing in the pasture. Thanks so much for reading and for your comment.
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