A poem written by an eight-year-old girl has taken over Chinese social media lately and sparked a heated discussion on parenthood.
The bittersweet poem depicts what kind of mother the girl would like to be, impressing tens of thousands of netizens and leaving grown-ups to do some profound soul-searching.
Here is a rough translation of the Chinese poem:
等我的身体也有了曲线
Wait until My body Also Has Curves
一
One
等我的身体也有了曲线,
Wait until my body also has curves,
我就会是一个妈妈,
I will become a mom.
我会有一个小孩子,
I will have a kid,
她一定要是女的。
and it has to be a girl.
二
Two
我要带她走遍全球,
I will travel around the world with her.
问问十分了解日本的中国游客为什么日本那么小,
Ask Chinese tourists who know Japan well: "Why is Japan so small?"
再用英语问问英国人:你们这里的美食有那些,
and then ask British people in English: What kind of gourmet food do you have here?
我一定不老是骗她说:
I promise I won't always lie to her, saying
“你现在还小,等你大一点再说吧。”
"You are still young, let's talk about it when you get older."
三
Three
我要给她买一只她最最喜欢的宠物,
I will buy her a pet that she loves the most,
顺便也告诉她小狗为什么会汪汪叫,
telling her why dogs bark,
还要告诉她为什么小猫喜欢抓布,(当然,我得先知道这是为什么。)
and explaining to her why kittens like scratching cloth. (Of course, I have to figure it out first.)
我一定不会对她说:
I promise I won't tell her:
“我现在很忙,下次再去吧。”
"I am busy now, let's go next time."
四
Four
我要问问她她的梦想是什么,
I will ask her what her dream is,
如果她的梦想可以实现的话,
and if her dream can be realized,
我一定会帮她实现她的梦想,
I promise to help her make it come true,
不管有多困难。
no matter how hard it’s going to be.
五
Five
你可别以为我说的都是谎话,
Don't think I was just lying,
到时候,我不骗你,
When the time comes, I promise you,
一定做个这样的好妈妈。
I will be a good mom like that.