Once I turned twenty-two
My parents started searching a groom for me
Many came to see me
They looked at me with contempt
and they turned down
They said:
“She is dark”
“She is lean”
“She is poor”
“She is ugly”
None saw the beauty of my mind
For them, beauty was skin deep
I was exhibited a number of times
I suppressed my anger and pain
And put a smiling face
My mother struggled not to cry

Now I am twenty-nine
And my parents are still searching
I am their only child
born to give them sorrows only

All my friends are married
and are mothers now
I long to be a mother
Only then shall I be complete
Comes in my dreams my sweet baby
with shining eyes and rosy cheeks

I hope against hope
One day I can also sing a lullaby
and whisper in my sleeping baby’s ear
“I love you”