The obsession of having a male child takes it toll on a mother, agonises Neelam, in this women-centric poem, exclusively for Different Truths.

A boy,
I was told that every family yearns;
Bearing a male child
Has become my life’s only concern!

For want of a boy
I have given births to six pretty daughters;
They roam, discarded and unloved,
And my family, of my next pregnancy chatters!

For want of a boy
I have become a perpetual pregnant machine!
Who asks what I desire or seek?
Who bothers about my wishes pristine?

For want of a boy
I have been driven to the extreme!
I don’t think I can take it anymore;
My face has lost its glitter and gleam!

For want of a boy
I think I wish to end my life…
But…what will happen to my daughters?
What is the end of this relentless strife?

When my daughters grow up
Will the same old question buoy?
While they battle and struggle
People will ask, “When will you have a boy?”

©Neelam Saxena Chandra

 Photo from the Internet