How Do I Feel?

Ranando D. King 1976 (South Bend, IN)

April 22 


You asked how I feel, but do you want to know?
I’d tell you for real, but then you’d run away.
You should instead wonder why I don’t often show
The feelings I keep under wraps and refuse to say.

Do you respect my feelings? Do you even care?
Do you ever notice that with every action, there
Is all of my feelings bundled tightly inside?
I truly put no effort in trying to hide.

My feelings all go into what I value.
Just look at my choices and you’ll know the truth.
The fact I include you in the things I do
Is how I’ve show feelings since the days of my youth.

Is there really for me a better way
To express the feelings that I do not say?
Don’t you feel better when I stand my ground
And face slings and arrows without making a sound?

Being stoic is the safety that you want from me.
Without that, you’d constantly be living in fear.
If I decided to act emotionally,
You would be too afraid to ever borrow my ear.

All civilization depends on this fact:
That men keep their emotions inside.
It’s not really that we don’t show how we feel.
We keep control instead of hide.

So do you still want me to show how I feel?
Do you still want me to say?
Alright. I will say every now and again,
But don’t expect this every day.

About this poem

One of the many complaints women raise against men is that they don't show enough emotion. This poem is a response to that complaint.

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Written on April 26, 2022

Submitted by ranando_k on April 28, 2022

Modified on March 29, 2023

1:21 min read
39

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CCDD EFEF BBGG HXHX XDID IBXB
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,245
Words 271
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Ranando D. King

Ranando King is an amateur poet who actually spends most of his time writing software and songs, although most of them never leave his computer. more…

All Ranando D. King poems | Ranando D. King Books

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1 Comment
  • nmodi4
    I like the way the poet has expressed the idea of feelings left unsaid and unheard but still expressed through actions. Resonated very deeply with me
    LikeReply1 year ago

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"How Do I Feel?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/126394/how-do-i-feel?>.

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