When does a boy become a man?
Only when he understands
that who he is has never changed.
His priorities are just rearranged.
He still likes to play
but he works all day.
He looks at girls
but in a different way.
When he fears for his life
he learns how to pray.
When he combs his hair
he sees some gray.
When he debates, then listens
then has his say.
When flirtaceous circumstances
won't lead him astray.
When he's not ashamed to cry
or ashamed to say
I'm sorry.

Then what we have is a boy that's a man.
The boy's still there, but man does what he can
to restrain him.

Edwina Reizer

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-boy-or-a-man-2/