Jul 15, 2022
The Arrange Marriage
Dreamscape, poem, uncertainty, hope, trust, blind faith
Theme Word —
DREAMSCAPE
Meaning — A landscape or scene with strangeness or mystery characteristics of a dream.
Massive red lehanga tucked around
my waist,
the tail of the duppata laden
with insecurities, uncertainty and hope
dangling around my arms.
“But I wanted an orange one” a voice
reverberated around the room and
the landscape effused with pastel reds and yellows
like the Winter deforming into Spring
revealing the Tangerine masterpiece smothered
with tones of cantaloupe and marmalade.
Is this what I want?
The lehanga or the groom? scoffed my conflicted mind.
That hefty fabric is unknown to me
just like that outgrown man and the
baratis.
The beauty of the price and it’s
compatibility with my body was judged by my family
I never had a chance to introspect the quality,
I know nothing of what lies between
those embroidered patterns nor of the person
whose name is imprinted on my palm.
All I know is that beyond this dreamscape,
the warm hand of my father is on my head
and the strong shoulder of my mother is underneath it.
Word Meaning -
Lehanga — Long skirt worn by Indian women usually on ceremonial occasions.
Duppata — A long piece of cloth worn around the head, neck, and shoulders by women from South Asia.
Baratis — Family and friends of the groom.
