A young woman shows her mother the ring her beloved has given her, a symbol of love without end and a sign that they will soon be united. Her mother says it's beautiful, but the speaker senses what lies underneath. The unspoken words land like bombs on a country at war. When the subject comes up again, the mother's anger breaks into the open, her tongue "as sharp as a knife," and she asks why her daughter would put herself through marriage. The mother's claim that "love is overrated" suggests she has been hurt by her own marriage.
The daughter answers simply, "I love him," and then pushes back: "we aren't you and dad." She says she has seen what marriage shouldn't be, so she believes she can avoid it. The mood is tense and defiant, but it ends firmly. The ring stays on her finger, and the last line shows she won't be talked out of her choice.