Marriage
He was staring at me
Lecherous and creepy
His beady eyes
Fixed on my thighs
Not for me I thought,
Not for me this sort
I found I was wrong
My bridegroom to be
Arranged by my loved ones
The done thing you see
My life decided
My future mapped out
The hidden stars
In the constellation above.
What about love, I asked in distress,
Fearful and broken
Rooted in stress.
The answer was brisk
It will come with time
And money rules dear girl
And so we've obliged
The haggling for the dowry
Continued well into the night
With my loved ones enumerating
My many good points
I could cook well
Sew well
Wash and clean
Other wifely duties
Would come with
The change in scene
So I was sold
So I was bought
Money exchanged hands
I was caught.
From a collection of poems by the author
Superstition
Many traditions, many ways
Appear to bridge and await
Defenceless, untutored, a blight
Ironic are these flashes of insight
Haughty, unbreakable
Carved in the mind
Incantations and mounting lore,
Superstition mingled with fright
Beleaguered offerings
Shame and madness
Confusion
ignorance at its height
Thuggery, devilry
Wielded its fake might
the winds of reason
absent against the fight
Symbolism assured of
Appeasement, abetment
Offerings and sacrifice
Acts of human desperation
Spiralling wickedness
Preying weakness
The sound
Of human misery.
From a collection of poems by the author
