Stench

Stench, that odor, flaring up my nostrils

Suffocating, poisoning my inside parts. 

What rotten flesh, what burnt-down body

Could emit such a smell, I wonder which.

The pungent odor refuses to leave

Chicken left too long to simmer, broken eggs.

Vegetables left to be scavenged by rats

Those rats consumed in the evening broth.

The bride set to fire, warm kerosene

The bride now sits here, emitting fumes.

She'll live with the stench throughout her life

What life is this devoid of beauty.

Forget beauty, no greeting flowery scent 

That scent lost, doused by pure flames.

Those flames have now reduced to soot

The poor soul, she sits there mute. 

I wonder what travesty occurred

It claimed her tender, child-like skin. 

I wonder what drove her, or any other

To play with fire and dance with it. 

Maybe she lit the final flame 

Vengeance took over, maybe she sinned.

Or maybe the classic case, the ill of dowry

Nothing to give, nothing to gift.

The men in fading pinstripes, jeer and cheer

While I sit tight, pretend to forget. 

I ramble on, I wouldn't know a thing

Except the morbid, dead, pungent stench.