(Every years hundreds of girls in south asia are killed by family members when they want to marry a boy who does not belong to her caste or religion, a dialog between a father and a daughter.)

Father,,
For me you are the star of my life,
the jewel of my turban, the kohinoor,
For what purpose did I send you, o daughter,
Education is for enlightenment,
Not to defame a family s pride,
You have caste out all norms,
and stamped on our family s honour,
How difficult it will be for me to find,
Matches for your siblings and walk with pride,
The only thing I can save is either my honour,
Or a daughter who wrongly decides,,

DAUGHTER,,
You are the creater of my existence,
Not only a father but also,
A guide and god like figure,
When I was a child, you were
my protective shell,
your hands were there to save from falls,
To my wishes you always complied,
what do you want? Colored pencils?
fairy dresses? Or dolls?
A freedom to choose,
A freedom to decide,
And now here is my life s greatest wish
You want the voice of my desire to fade,
Once you said, o father,
Educated minds are enlightened,,
All world has same blood,
if not caste and color,
Same god created us o father,
Choosing a soulmate is my human right,
What other will say is your only fear,
You want to put my love to an end,
the color of my blood on your hand,
Will not let you regain,
The greatness of a father,
Being human is a superior thing,
Think again, think again, think again,

© 2014 hardeep sabharwal