Life which is bought and sold

Abhinav Patel

In this world of love and union
Where hearts beat with a sweet fusion
There's an ugly practice that prevails
One that leaves a trail of tears and wails

Grooms with their demands on dowry
Judging girls by their father's money
Is this what love and marriage is?
A transactional agreement with a financial twist?

Oh, the irony of it all
As love is supposed to stand tall
Above all materialistic gain
Yet, here we are, stuck in this bane

The worth of a woman reduced to her wealth
A commodity to be bought and sold by stealth
Is this what our society has become?
A place where love and compassion are numb?

Grooms with their list of demands
On cars, gold and prime lands
And if the father can't comply
The bride-to-be is left to die

Left alone to face the taunts
Of a society that wants
Nothing more than a grand show
Of wealth, power and status quo

The bride's family left in despair
Struggling to meet the groom's unfair
Demands on their financial reserves
Leaving them with shattered nerves

Oh, the irony of it all
As love is supposed to stand tall
Above all materialistic gain
Yet, here we are, stuck in this bane

Why must the worth of a woman be
Reduced to her family's property?
Why must she be bought and sold
For the sake of wealth and gold?

It's time for us to break free

From this age-old atrocity
To stand up against these demands
And take a stand for what's truly grand

Love, respect and understanding
These are the values worth demanding
In a world where the worth of a woman
Is not measured by her father's money

Dowry, the weight of gold and pride,
A burden borne by a groom's side,
A custom old, entrenched in greed,
A bartering of daughters, a heinous deed.

The price is set, a life is sold,
A daughter's worth, in coins of gold,
The groom's family, demands their right,
A sum so high, it's beyond sight.

The bride's family, bows to the demand,
For societal norms, they must withstand,
They sell their land, their savings, their all,
To ensure their daughter, never falls.

But what of love, and what of joy,
In this transaction, where's the employ?
What of the girl, and her wishes too,
Is she not worth, more than gold so few?

Her dreams are crushed, her voice unheard,
Her life is bartered, her freedom blurred,
A victim of tradition, of patriarchy,
A life bound in chains, a lifelong misery.

Dowry, a curse, a societal bane,
A custom steeped in deep-rooted disdain,
Let us break these shackles, and set her free,
And let her live, her life with dignity.