Sultana’s Dream for Reality
Asleep, or wide awake I dream the dream
A world where women lead
And men are left inside
A world where women rule
And men are rarely seen
Intelligence and science are the way to succeed
The brain stops at nothing, no muscle is too strong
We, the mighty women do belong
As rulers, as queens, in charge of the greater world
Education is the road along which we travel
When the choice must be made:
Intelligence vs. Military strength
Who is the better choice?
When awake the military wins
When asleep the brain claims its voice
And they win
The sun is clear
The light is clear
The answer is clear
But dreams are unclear
So
Will this dream remain in the daylight?
After reading Sultana’s Dream I felt a sense of empowerment that could only be expressed in the form of a poem. The primary themes central to the story were not only female vs. male societal roles, but also intelligence, as associated with women, and military strength, as associated with men. As I mentioned in my blog post earlier, my education in an all girls school taught me that intelligence is the means to power for women. In Sultana’s Dream I found it interesting that the debate between military power and intelligence was portrayed under the beams of bright sunlight. I reflected upon this image in my poem, because I feel that there is an important connection between the light shining and its illumination of the female capacity to act intelligently and triumph in “battle”. The women’s scientific use of the light is a metaphor for the brightness and intellect that they possess. Upon waking up from a dream, the majority of my dreams are blurry and disconnected. I often wonder why I had such a dream, and what its “deeper significance” is. In Sultana’s Dream it was clear that the women won the test in battle, but will the decisiveness of this dream remain when the narrator awakens? What does awakening from such a dream really mean? I felt that since this dream was recalled with such clarity, the concept of female empowerment in general has commenced the transition from dream to reality. The answer, the meaning of the dream was so apparent to the reader that it seems nonsensical for it to not be a more prevalent view in society.