SHE IS A WOMAN IMPURE

She is a Woman Impure - by Fahmida Riaz


She is a woman impure
Trapped in the cycle of blood
In the chain of years and months
Burning in the fire of lust
Seeking her pleasures
Mistress of the devil
Following his ways
Towards that elusive goal
Which has no route
That meeting of light and fire
Which is so hard to find.
Boiling blood inside her veins
Has torn her breasts,
The thorns on her way
Have severed her womb,
On her body’s shame
There is no shade of sanctity,
But, O gods who rule this earth,
You shall never see
This woman impure
With a prayer on her lips
As a supplicant at your door.

Poem by Fahmida Riaz
Translated by Mahmood Jamal
Fehmida’s portrait courtesy K.B. Abro


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