PALANQUIN BEARERS

Inside the palanquin sat the bride,

On the lashes her tears had dried.

Swaying in the breeze she was steered along,

Wafting through a farewell song.

The bearers sang joyfully of the days to come,

Accompanied by a light tip tapping of their drums.

She was leaving her maternal home,

Under the bright canopy of a flowered dome.

The bearers breezily steered her towards a new life,

No longer a girl, she was now a blushing wife.

The wedding party slowly fell by wayside,

It was now only these porters with whom her past was entwined.

While crossing the river foaming and white,

Sunlight danced on it sparkling bright.

The birds in the sky were flying along,

As if to keep her company on this journey long.

The fragrance of the flowered buggy,

Floated gently towards her eagerly waiting hubby.

The villagers came out and lined the streets,

To welcome the new bride amongst their midst.