They’re fine boys standing
To attention
In parade grounds;
hot tarmac,
(Soles were baking)
Alluding to some grander
Scheme: a career
To find the theory of flight
And Dad’s love
(Or anything)
Where teenage boys found
Lessons in:
Self-discipline, thought
Over feelings
(Yes, that kind of thing)
Control these and other
Basic impulses,
In how to be a man;
How not to cry
(But can never win).