The Daughter’s Burden 

By Navi Singh

In a house, not a home 

She’s looked at different
There’s a rope around her waist 
One in her mouth 
She dares to move the strings 
In a world where the men are the puppeteers

The Daughter’s Burden is a heavy one

They ask her if she’s persevered 

For the control of a man is unreliable 
They want her to comply gracefully 
Bear the younger children in one hand 
And their expectations in the other 
To do it compliantly- with a smile and perked chest 
A daughter doesn’t complain, she limits herself 
She tightens her own ropes  

A Daughter’s Burden is a heavy one 

She lowers her own ropes

Into a well
Where she can’t breathe 
As they watch her drown unpassionately 
Or she lets the ropes go...
And they call her Son

The Daughter’s Burden is a heavy one