Outcaste Poem by Prabhakar Subramaniam

This is an invitation
I have to give you
For form's sake
It's your niece's wedding
But you cannot attend
The in-laws don't even know
I have another sister
How will I introduce you
To the groom's parents
'This is the one who
Married out of caste'
So, please don't come
And embarrass us
Bless her from here
Why are you looking at
The list of best compliments from
Your name is not there
There, there, stop crying
You know how our people are
They'll not lift a finger for you
When you are suffering
They'll rather you hang on the sacred thread
Than find succour outside the agraharam
Think of what you fled from
Then you wouldn't mind not coming back
To see those unkind, grotesque figures
Milling around in their silk sarees, jewellery
Kind to animals, but cruel to their own kind