Daughter-in-law

Finally! they will say
when I tell them:
after one whole year
you have finally finished
that gas cylinder.
We were wondering when you would do it.
Don't you even cook anything?
Or do you always buy your food?
No wonder you have put on such weight.
But now that it is over
we can give you a new one.
You better finish this in 3 months time.
What? Doesn't matter if you have
a microwave or an induction cooker.
Who uses them to cook anyway!
Cooking must be done the old-fashioned way
on a gas stove
with heavy pots and pans.
Too much oil you say?
Use olive oil - no health problems.
O that research must be by some Indian people
who haven't been acknowledged;
Sesame oil & coconut oil will cause cholesterol
even if you say that it doesn't cause heart attack.
Of course I know many people who died of cholesterol!
Better to stick to the olive oil
that Western countries promote.
Never mind if its too expensive for you.
Use sunflower oil then.
Forget the research. I know best.
You are no longer part of your parents family.
So don't ask them or go stay with them
even if you are nothing in our house.
We insist on ruling over your life
daughter-in-law.

(This poem, a dramatic monologue of sorts, is obviously highly exaggerated, but certainly with grounds in real life as it is based on the experiences of women friends and people I read about.)