DIDACTIC: "DEAR SINGLE LADIES" BY AJAKAYE STRIDA

Dear Single Ladies!

Stay proud of taking your time,

as time also takes its own time to tick.

Stop being found wanting to be married,

marriage isn't a goal to be won

on the field of twenty-two side-chicks.

Dear Single Ladies!

Identify your dream 

like sunlight identifies its time to shine.

Build your dream submissively,

it would never deny you emotional sanity,

you owe neither yourself nor anyone marriage.

Dear Single Ladies!

Congratulate yourself as you  aren't nursing a child alone.

Do you know if your mother nursed you alone?

Don't ask her, she wouldn't tell you.

If you cannot raise a child on your own,

like the impossibility of reversing the actions of yesterday,

refuse to be pregnant for any wealthy man.

Dear Single Ladies!

You also have the right to be the breadwinner of your house,

you have the right to own a personal house,

you have the right to be victorious,

you have the right to impart,

you have the right to decide what you want

not selecting amongst the available.

©️ RASHIDAT OLAMIDAYO AJAKAYE STRIDA 

-Nigeria

This DIDACTIC poem empowers single ladies to prioritize self-identity and independence. It advises against societal pressures to marry, instead promoting personal dreams and emotional sanity. The tone's assertive and encouraging, highlighting rights to autonomy, victory, and decision-making. Vivid metaphors ("sunlight identifies its time to shine") and rhetorical questions engage the reader. The poet emphasizes self-sufficiency and confidence, urging women to own their choices.