day 7 - poem 8

Bidai - II
(sending off of the bride from her parent's home after marriage)

Though not easy to bear
Today, I would not stop
You or your tears.

They would tell me many things about your world
You many not have told or
I may not have understood well.

Mingled with those of your mother
They would tell me
I am taking the shadow away from the image.
That someone else would also
Need to know all the moment
That you are well and happy.

Dampening the chest of your father,
They would show me,
What high ideals you would seek in me.
The grip of his hand - caring but firm;
That steadied your steps and made you fearless as a child
Would have to be replaced.

Wiped away with plams of your friends and sister
They would beseach me to do the same
If ever you were hurt or sad.
And that you would need to confide in a friend
Without doubt or aprehension
In absolute trust.

More than anything they would inspire me
To do and many times not to do anything
So that I see them again.

This poem and the one posted before this were my reactions as a husband and brother (in that order) though I am yet to experience it first-hand.