Alfred Edward Housman

A.E. Housman (1859-1936) wrote the following about his unrequited love for Moses Jackson. Not being a particularly literary guy, I just discovered this tonight thanks to Wikipedia.

Because I liked you better

Than suits a man to say

It irked you, and I promised

To throw the thought away.

To put the world between us

We parted, stiff and dry;

Goodbye, said you, forget me.

I will, no fear, said I

If here, where clover whitens

The dead man's knoll, you pass,

And no tall flower to meet you

Starts in the trefoiled grass,

Halt by the headstone naming

The heart no longer stirred,

And say the lad that loved you

Was one that kept his word.

One of My Guys

I'm grateful for a few good friends including an outdoors man who once intimidated me with talk of his weekend adventures. We are alike and different. Both of us are married fathers, active LDS priesthood holders, good friends who have sought each other's company for years.

We both appear to be straight, but he actually is. We both appear to be at home in the world of men, but he actually is. He is comfortable in his own skin and somehow when I'm with him I'm more comfortable in my own skin.

I notice and appreciate his hands, wrists, forearms and shoulders; his intense but warm eyes, his smile, his voice, his laughter. He is kind and relaxed, quiet but articulate. A huge part of his appeal to me is that he isn't tuned into to any of these kinds of things.