I stand afar and watch you
So peaceful as you go about your garden
Plucking a few weeds here, checking on the crops
So green lush they commune with you
Your walk falters, you walk with effort
My eyes walk with you
I start saying something; I stop
You look lost in another world
In the past

You were born beautiful
Both in the inside and the outside
A first of many to come; you were celebrated
Right from the start you knew
The world was yours to have
A song you had in you
A story you determined to tell
A dream you wanted born
You had been marked for society
Their eyes and love on you
A beloved daughter

Then he happened.
Naivety tight in your heart
Every word he said you carried for truth
See, you were used to the good
And therefore he was also part of the good
Maybe better?
He loved country music
Enjoyed Ludlum novels
And could dance
What more could you ask for
You were happy; everything was slowly falling in place

The village wasn’t bought off that fast
Where does he come from?
Do we know his family?
What does he do for a living?
They asked bent over endless cups of tea
A girl like you ought to go to the university first
All the other girls are looking up to you
You owe us that much
They chided you

Then I happened.
Unexpected, unplanned for, unwanted
I changed everything
I was marked for gloom; for death
You fell out of the pedestal
He was forced to do the honourable thing
You moved to his village
Where you became his home maker
And have been tending the farm ever since

I look at you now lost in another world
And I know I have been marked
Marked for your life
I live not only my own but yours too
I think I have lived enough of my own
Now I have to live yours
I have to do this if my daughter is to live her own.