One Day I Will Be Killed Poem by Qurratulain Fatima

One day they will kill me
With a bullet, or else with a sharp knife,
Tighten the noose around my neck and hang me, or else
Bury me inside a wall,
Burn me down and kick my ash; or else,
Will watch me melting, quivering, and fading away
After dousing me in acid.

They won't ask me
How do I want to die...
Whether I want a glorious death lying
Comfortably on a bed, or else
At the traffic junction, or
Die hearing abuses
By the torment of noises
No one will ask me
What death I want!

I will be killed anywhere
This is also possible that
I am euthanized after
Draining me emotionally, and
Not even buried, or else
They lay me down in the grave of
My own body, silently, or else
For the demand of the people
For sake of false prestige, and
To appease some faiths.
Some people would cry bitterly
Beating their chests
Over my non-existent tomb.

Even this is possible that
I am thrown somewhere
Bundled up in a sack
Butchered into pieces.
Which Eidhi or Cheepa people
Will bury my unidentified dead body
In a grave yard.
I know I will be killed…
By any means
Either by bullet or else,
With a sharp knife,
For any reason, or else,
Without a reason
I will be killed one day.

(English translation by Naseer Ahmed Nasir)