‘Oh, Little Girl’

Come study, oh little girl, said the mother.
You must dream and grow your feathers,
And soar, whatever be the weather.
Because if you don’t, fate will be like your mother.
Cooking, cleaning and raising children,
Supporting the dream of some other.

Hence grew the little girl,
Ambitious and ferocious.
With a mind of her own, and
dreams of unforeseen proportions.
She would be loved and admired,
Is what she thought,
But the empowered woman is an idea
The world just hadn’t bought.

Because you might dream,
But this house is still yours to clean.
There may be deadlines,
But feeding the family,
Is not for you to deny.
And sure, the world needs ideas from you
But even when you brain storm,
Make sure to keep that smiling face on.
Because men in all your relation,
Cannot be kept in dissatisfaction.

Seems this power is still not yours to claim,
but a borrowed freedom from your chains.
So, keep thanking, oh little girl,
To all the men who let your wings unfurl!

Vandana is a lecturer at Jindal Global Business School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat and is a doctoral student in public policy and management at Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.

Featured image credit: Pariplab Chakraborty