14th of August is Pakistan’s independence day. This is a poem by Kishwar Naheed one of the best known feminist poets of Pakistan.

The Grass Is Like Me

You know, the grass is like me
It’s true nature revealed
When trodden under foot
But when drenched
Does it bear witness
To burning disgrace
Or blazing fury?
Yes, the grass is like me
It lifts its head
Only to be continually sheared
Into flat velvet by the frenzied machine
How many ways do you have to flatten a woman?
But the earth
And women continue to rise up
If you ask me, you had the right idea
A footpath was spot on
Those who can’t endure
Are patched down into the scorched earth
Merely straw
A path for the oppressors
Not grass
You know, grass like me!

by Kishwar Naheed, translated by Sascha Aurora Akhtar
via The Poetry Translation Workshop