Nice Men: a poem

A friend shared this with me. I would not say I found it humorous, exactly, but it moved me. I didn't know in what other category it would fit.

Nice Men Dorothy Byrne (1989)

I know a nice man who is kind to his wife and always lets her do what she wants.

I heard of another nice man who killed his girlfriend. It was an accident. He pushed her in a quarrel and she split open her skull on the dining-room table. He was such a guilt-ridden sight in court that the jury felt sorry for him.

My friend Aiden is nice. He thinks women are really equal.

There are lots of nice men who help their wives with the shopping and the housework.

And many men, when you are alone with them, say, ‘I prefer women. They are so understanding.’ This is another example of men being nice.

Some men, when you make a mistake at work, just laugh. They don’t go on about it or shout. That’s nice.

At times, the most surprising men will say at parties. ‘There’s a lot to this Women’s Lib.’ Here again is a case of men behaving in a nice way.

Another nice thing is that some men are sympathetic when their wives feel unhappy. I’ve often heard men say, ‘Don’t worry about everything so much, dear.’

You hear stories of men who are far more than nice – putting women in lifeboats first, etc.

I think that is all I can say on the subject of nice men. Thank you.