She shines, she is full of hope, of wonder, of joy.
Then one day she is swept away, on the promise of a boy.
A fairytale romance, reality ignored,
The Love of One, so adored.
She thinks of them Together, a pair, a duo, a team,
But things are not always as it would seem.
For whilst she thought of them as equals, a perfect match,
This Love, for her, came with a nasty catch.
For no matter how much he loved her, or seemed to think the same
Our society is patriarchal – and it’s all in the name.
It begins when we are children, where false promise is sold
All can achieve whatever – as long as they are bold!
Girls encouraged to be fierce, to ‘lean in’ and demand a seat,
Girls are told feminism has freed us from retreat.
But what feminism sold us, was up the creek,
For still all that is feminine, is seen as weak.
A woman who strays into her biological place,
Is a woman who is now, clearly, out of the race.
The girl-child lives in juxataposition – an illusion of choice,
And just like Mrs Triggs, she hasn’t got a voice.
Over looked, pushed aside, her sacrifice to win is great,
Meanwhile, that true love of hers, has a different fate.
He rides high on his coat tails, a free pass at every gate,
Oblivious, is he, to his privileged state.
Our love birds start their journey, the illusion of fair,
But marriage is, even in joy, a feminine snare.
Whose job is the one to follow, should opportunity knock,
This seems like a logical discussion, and just a mild shock,
But what a spanner in the works it is, even when equality exists.
For what happens when He simply insists.
Happily, She relinquished – in the name of love and support,
His career will ever now outrank, hers is now thwart.
She shrugs, for Motherhood – actualised or pending,
Hangs over her in assumption unending,
Motherhood in the patriarchy is a loaded contradiction,
Motherhood is a social and career eviction,
Mothering, has been devalued and is synonymous with slave,
Especially if that one true love turns out to be a knave.
Patriarchy means we favour those that are our brothers
And society, as it stands, is diminishing The Mothers.
for women the threat ever lurks,
As she awaits The Spanner in the Works,