I have been told that my last version of “The Man I Love” was excessive, fulsome, and too extreme in its expectations. Therefore I shall try again to put together an ideal man who I might acquire. He must, as I said, be brave. A soldier or a man with a soldier’s virtues is what he must be. He must be honest, a man who never steals and seldom lies. He must be soft-hearted, the type of person that takes in stray cats. He must support me in my dreams, as I hope he also has aspirations of his own worth supporting. And he must read books, whether Don Quixote, Little Dorrit or Jane Eyre. He must appreciate fine poetry, whether written by the Brownings or Emily Dickinson. He must possess imagination.
I have been told that I ask for the moon in the men I want. I am not down to earth or realistic. Yet I hold onto this Gershwin song expressing all that love is for me,
Some day he’ll come along
The man I love
And he’ll be big and strong
The man I love
And when he comes my way
I’ll do my best to make him stay
He’ll look at me and smile
I’ll understand
And in a little while
He’ll take my hand
And though it seems absurd
I know we both won’t say a word
Maybe I shall meet him Sunday
Maybe Monday, maybe not
Still I’m sure to meet him one day
Maybe Tuesday will be my good news day…
And so all else above
I’m dreaming of the man I love