I know that you can wear a smiling face,
that is no true measure of your inner grace.

Men meeting men take care not to provoke,
And keep their peace, to avoid a fight
That you, less fitted for aggression,
Smooth over, with the sudden light
Of smiling eyes, that turn our minds
to thoughts of beauty, love, delight.

But what if you take off this mask?
And you were just a soul,
naked, without the pretty dress
you wear to outwardly impress?

What is there in a woman’s heart?
Can there be a settled will to love,
can she force her feelings to the good,
If her softness sets her apart?

Sisters, you have much to prove.
There is a beauty written on your body
There is a loveliness that can move
men to see you and admire
you as a form of life that we desire
to be made real, at least in part,
not as an act or play, but as something
that you cultivate, and turn to,
that runs deeply enough within you
to penetrate your heart.

– Mark Richardson writes at OzConservative, a blog dedicated to Australian traditionalist conservatism, and is the Co-Convenor of the Melbourne Traditionalists. Mark Richardson’s work has also appeared in the print version of The Independent Australian and he is currently working on a book which will be released later this year.

SydneyTrads is the web page of the Sydney Traditionalist Forum: an association of young professionals who form part of the Australian independent right (also known as “non-aligned right”).