There she was, wondering,
Beguiled at the simple joys of life.
She was snapped to reality with the pangs inside.
Desire, as she may, the banality of life,
Destined, she was, for the singularity of elite.
Choose, she had to between life and success,
Burdened, she was with gratification of prospects.
Run of the mill, she struggled to be,
Achievements, of hers separated her from reality.
Endowed, thought people was she,
Submerged, under a sea of aspirations was she.
Scared, she would underachieve,
Forgot, she, what she really wanted to be.
Standards, to be met of the society,
Plead, she would, to just be!
Intellect, her virtue was supposed to be,
Creativity, denied to her, would be.
Diligence, of hers would pay off,
Freedom of spirit, never offered a bite of.
No partner good enough, every relation an impediment,
A life she had, replete with triumphs, but no sentiment.
Expectations, her own, clashed with dreams,
Torn apart, between her potential and yearning.
Faced, she was with the eternal question,
Heart or mind, where lay the greater satisfaction....
Inspired after reading the book "Girl in Translation" by Jean Kwok, this is me thinking out loud, about society's expectations from people of intellect, of setting each person in a pre-defined mold, and how a lot of the times, women have to pick between a career and a family life.
