​What Kind of Woman are You?~ By Mary Nemeth

What kind of woman are you? I heard them say to me.
“I am a woman, whole, wholesome,
with a womb, but empty always,
my womb unused and wasted.
 
I am a woman unfulfilled
in the duty of women: childless,
alone in this world of
couples, children, families.
 
I’ve learned well the lesson:
The woman’s place is in the home,
raising a family, never a mention
of the old maid, the childless.
 
Is my life less than the bountiful?
Am I selfish, as I have heard?
Motherhood is admired, rightfully.
But is there no room in this world for me?
 
Have I nothing to give to society?
Countless successful childless
women disprove that sentiment:
There are many ways to contribute.
 
So I answer, what kind of woman am I?
I am a friend, a mentor, a traveler,
a teacher, photographer and poet.
I am every woman and no woman.
 
A woman-god, a god-woman
Whose days are numbered
With much to do before I sleep.
Hallelujah!”
 
After  ”What Kind of Person are You?” by Yehuda Amichai.
 

Author Bio:
Mary Nemeth, a Purdue University graduate and a retired elementary teacher from the Cincinnati, Ohio area, has only been writing poetry for three years. Her other love is photography. Her ultimate goal is to marry her two passions, photography and poetry into a book in the future. Her poetry has been published in Creative Voices, For a Better World and Pegasus.