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
