She called at my work,
sobbing. “He was married before - had children.”
“What?” “How?” stunned, I exclaimed.
Newlywed, in a new country, trusted a man unknown.
Parents and loved ones left behind – she was a star of their eyes.
It was a marriage arranged.
He was handsome with silky talks
won everyone’s heart,
so, it was all arranged.
She tied knots to a con --
his dark secrets well hidden.
She left with hope for a life of love.
She knew not what was meant to be.
Secrets and lies robbed her,
shattered her dreams.
Marriage was made to collect the dowry money
and to find a slave for his comfort and pleasure.
In return, she was a victim of his rage on her tender body.
“Should she tell her parents, worry them in their old age?”
She knew the cultural bindings would hold her a victim.
He would live unscathed in the safe harbor of his manhood.
She capitulated to the ignoble journey of her arranged marriage.
She was a woman, he a man.
One day, she will ask her God.
meenakshimohan@copyright, July 2021
Author’s Bio:
Dr. Meenakshi Mohan is an educator, art critic, children’s writer, painter, and poet. She taught at universities in Chicago, Boston, and Towson University in Maryland. She has published widely in the academic and creative areas. She has been listed twice in the Who is Who Among American Teachers. She authored two children’s picture books, The Rainbow in My Room and The Gift. She edited Tamam Shud, poems of Kshitij Mohan. In addition, she coedited an anthology of poems for children. She recently had a solo exhibit of her paintings in Potomac, Maryland. She is on the Editorial Team for Inquiry in Education, a peer-reviewed journal published by National Louis University, Chicago, Illinois.