Pity the Girl

(This poem was originally published in Share Wisdom: A Poetry Anthology in 1995.)

They pity the girl
And her unfulfilled life
"My lovely, how can you cope
Without the security of a man
His strength and his wage
A man to obey and give
Love, cooking and child?"
"Well, my dear,
This 'lovely' does just fine!"

They pity the boy
And his unfulfilled life
"My handsome, how can you cope
Without the security of a wife
To adorn your arm
And provide you a legacy
For your father's name?"
"Well, my dear,
This 'handsome' does just fine!"

There are more ways to live
Than your sit-com family life
That boy could be your son
You'd cause him such strife?
No matter how you may try
He just can't take that wife

Don't pity the girl
For her life may be
More fulfilled than your own
And one day
She may even say,
"My dear, how can you cope
With the insecurities of your man?
And who is better
To protect and provide for you
Than your dear self?
Well, my dear,
Without that man
This 'lovely' does just fine!"

There are more ways to live
Avoiding all that strife
Your son could want a husband
Your girl may want a wife
So don't pity, grant their need
To choose their own way of life

©Chikara 1986

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