Weddings

Today, mother has gone
for a wedding,
I watched her search for
a powder compact
for the occasion.

How many times mother
has re-enacted this scene,
the Indian manipuri saree,
the gold necklace - a gift
from a close friend.
The ornate gold-dipped bracelets
and the trails of sweat
on her brow.

The same hymns to be sung
in a church with so many
perspiring guests, flitting
bars of light and shade
reminding us of time passing.

The bride prepared well ahead in time,
the dowry paid in advance,
the groom imported from Canada,
till blood and lust flow freely
like the conversations later.

 

Parvathi Arasanayagam