Some Women Poem by john tiong chunghoo

some women...

their son is all they have
their limbs to climb the world
mengmu moved house
three times to make sure
son mencius would
keep good company
he grew up to be china's
great philosopher

some women...
sacrificed their own dreams
in the name of filial piety
so that brothers could go
to college

some women...
they braved the battlefields
to fight as men
so that their aged father
could be safe at home

some women...
spend every cent
on a facade so that they
could walk like angels
and keep their worth
above the world

some women...
sell themselves for anything
blood, body, spirit and soul
so that they could buy
three meals for their family

some women...
seal their heart to marry
the men they do not love
or barely know
so that their father's dream
would come true

some women...
they look no further than
the lining of the wallets
when it comes to
taking proposals

some women....
threw their brothers' shoes
back at them
to wash themselves
to make it clear they
do not wish to be trumpled on
all their lives

some women
they fight for their kind
single mindedly
so that they could be
free as a bird
fly where they would like
live where they wish
and achieve the dreams
they harbour which all this
while have been buried
in the name of men
willingly, unwillingly