C - Chandana

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Pa, you have taught me to be strongYou have never stopped me from reaching for my dreamsMa, you have taught me that being gentle is a virtue tooYou gave me hope when I was stuck in a bleak world
But today I see you haggling over dowry The price of my freedom for a happy marriageI see my worth being measured in sovereigns of gold And the market value of property to my name
It seems oddly like tallying of a balance sheet You see me as an asset, but in their eyesI'm nothing but a liability, unless I come decked in jewelsBut even then what after I turn into an overused commodity?
My looks, my dreams, my values seems to mean so little todayWhen I stand in front of those so called prospective groomsAppraising me head to toe, dissecting me with their eyesMy thoughts shrivel up and curl inside with each word they say 
Isn't marriage supposed to be a relationship? One based on mutual trust and respect? Or is it simply another business arrangement?You have both taught me it is so much more
Today, please don't be frantic, for fear of my passing yearsFor the ticking of my biological clock I would rather remain as just the daughter that you both loveThan as the trophy wife who was negotiated on a whim 
Someday maybe I will find someone Someone who will not be bothered by your bank balance Or whether I have mastered the art of making perfect rotis So that even afterwards, I can continue to be who I am today 
Without my dreams turning into dust Without hopes being crushed Where I will be looked at with respect and loveAnd not just as a bejeweled garish clown or fool...

Linking this post to the A to Z Challenge.