The day they came to see me

 

  Its a wonderful proposal

  my father would say

  the boy's good looking

  well settled in U.S.A.

 

  The day they came to see me

  I was dressed and displayed

  was useless to plea

  that I hated this charade

  this awful solo parade.

 

  Looking down demurely

  I served them tea and coffee

  I never really got to see

  the people

  who came to "see" me.

 

  Four pairs of eyes assessing

  my height, colour and weight

  four pairs of eyes appraising

 deciding on my fate.

 

  Was asked to sit and stand

  I did

  was seething inside

  but managed to hide

  my rage.

 

Was asked to sing

 wanted to scream

but sang

and my voice had a ring

of muted angst.

Now they turned to my mother

and asked

Is "she" ( I think they meant me)

is she domestically trained??

 For a moment I thought

 Oh, maybe they mean my puppy !

 

  But no, it must be me

 Amma is almost in a faint

  she quickly announces

  that I can cook, sew and paint

  she’s decided

  she'd rather lie

  than put a taint

  on my "chances".

 

  A week later

  the awaited message came

  a letter to my father

  said

  they approved of his daughter

  (I don't think they even  knew my name!)

 

  Then began discussions

  my uncle was called to mediate

  auspicious dates

  wedding arrangements

  and  god-awful dowry rates.

 

  I was told time and again

  its hard to find good men

  Such a lucky girl-

  my folks said.

  Nobody ever thought

  there could be a whirl

  in my head.

 

  Yes they'd come and watched me

  but did they really

  see

  what's inside this skin ?

  Yes they'd come and heard me

  but did they try

  and listen

  to the voice from within ?