I want to remain humble and true to where I came from.
But I also want to be free.

I want to cherish the tight bond of an old-fashioned family.
But my heart also sings for a life left alone.

I want that cozy gathering, my elderly grandmother's words, my fussy older cousins being the sisters I never had, the uncle greeting me warmly..

But I don't want to water myself down.
To have to swallow a misogynistic comment.
To be put down as a woman, one that should know her place as a follower.
To marry to gain respect and worth,
Rather than to marry out of love.

I want roaming around foreign streets,
Maybe with a scarf and maybe without,
Maybe with a man whose mind will make love to mine.
I want a full career and pursuits.
Never a settlement, playing out the life which is not mine.

I belong to two worlds, and my heart and my mind fight for both:
The one of my origin, and,
The window of privilege I was born into.