The Runaway Bride Poem by Sandra Martyres

Six yards of silk
Draped around
Her slim figure
Pale faced and shy
She faced them
Her future in-laws
They peered at her
Closely, as if looking
For some kind of fault
Her parents had not
Prepared her for the
Travails of married life

Silently she left with them
For her new home afraid
Unshed tears in her eyes
The groom had sent
His parents to fetch her
As was customary
In their community
They had exchanged
Wedding vows based
On their horoscopes
Matched by the gurus

She had no clue about
what to expect, apart from
Her mother's advice
That as a married woman
She had to obey and respect
Her young husband
On the way to her new home
Her in-laws tutored her
On their expectations
The rules of their family
She listened in silence
For about an hour or so
Then at the next bus stop
She alighted and ran
For her life before the
In-laws could chase her