She stares with unseeing eyes.Blurred from unshed tears.
Stifled her sobbing, lest the god will hear and reprimand her.
She gathers her sari with seemingly steady fingers.
Smiles sweetly, while inwardly flinching.
She watched them make their vows,Her head held high.
A pasted smile lingered on her lips
While choking in anguish inside.
She stayed until the last guest left,
Eyes dry, smile now stiff in her lips.
She endures the throbbing pain inside her chest,
While mercifully praying for release.
And now at last, in her grief, she collapses,
As he, the groom, looks her way with pleading eyes,
His heart probably as broken as her life.
She and he are victims of old age belief,
Of traditions, of customs,Of arranged marriages.
