dowerless daughter

i'm a dowerless daughter
i have no means to entice
my eyes aren't quite pretty
my shape not so nice
i am not possessed
of a seductive air
even my footsteps
whisper beware
i have a rough touch
from hands that aren't smooth
my voice, unmelodious,
refuses to soothe
nothing about
my persona compels
i cannot play tricks
and know of no spells
what men really want
i don't offer it seems
i'm the plain jane next door
not the girl of your dreams
just a dowerless daughter
resigned to her fate
with no hopes of changing
her lonely state...

~soledad evans (2007)