All that glitters..

My mother always told me that people liked the glitter of gold more than a golden girl.
My mother was usually right.
I remember the day when I got married, with golden shackles around my neck.
I sat still silhouetted in silk among strangers,
as they craned their necks to ensure if my necklaces weighed more than my frail body,
gently lifting the red fabric to reveal the golden prize they bought with me.
I remember how the creases on their lips turned upside down,
The man I swore a lifetime with
Looked at me with pity not love.
I remember the sheer disgust I could feel towards me.
I don’t remember much after that.

I remember waking up to pain in every atom of my body,
or what was left of it.

Everyday.
I remember how the colour of my skin kept changing to blue from golden.
My mother always told me that people liked the glitter of gold more than a golden girl.
My mother was right.

I remember running one day to a land far away from home,
with all the shackles that came with me.
That day, I sold gold to buy glitter.
And sat at the end of the street
The jewellery glittered not with gold but hope.
People came from far and wide to see.
My mother always told me that people liked the glitter of gold more than a golden girl.
My mother was wrong.

Photo by- Garvita Bhatnagar @bgarvita

Poem by- Apoorva Tarafdar (@chroniclesofsos)

Poet’s note- This is a work of fiction but is based on what countless women and men face everyday in their homes. Domestic violence and dowry are social evils which would end only if people speak up about it and do something. It is time that people realise that a human life is much more valuable than all the gold in the world.