Culture is a major determinent of progress. You may either lag behind or move forward due to the nature of your culture.

She dreamed of conceiving
Of expecting the unborn
Of giving birth to a baby
Of caring and loving
Of feeding with breast milk
Of becoming a mother
But that hasn’t been the case
She was an infertile woman

With feelings of remorse
She felt a pain inside out
Though unable to carry them off
She tried to articulate a sentence
She spoke with herself in silence
As she listened to herself speaking

Mana has entered her sixth year of marriage
Never has she been able to conceive so far
Culture lays blame on women for being infertile
Regards them as being possessed by evil spirits

As the date of her monthly period draws closer
Mana looks forward to a bitter anguish of shame
Menstruation is a pain she undergoes on regular basis
She is guilty of a crime she had never committed
They wrapped her feelings in a wet blanket of gloom
Empathy is a cure for such lives despaired by culture