Taslima Nasrin Poems

A woman can't live without a man?
Ha, what logic, the logic of a ghost! Bah bah!
Throw the ball,
...

As much as I had thought of him to be a male,
That much he is not;
Half-neutered he is,
Half a male.
...

Will you let me have a glimpse of people?
People on the streets? People sauntering by, people smiling.
People intending to take a right turn,
Suddenly changed the mind and took to the left.
...

Let the pavilions of religion
be ground to bits,
let the bricks of temples, mosques, guruduaras, churches
be burned in blind fire,
...

In the market nothing can be had as cheaply as women.

If they get a small bottle of colour for their feet,
they spend their nights sleepless for sheer joy;
If they get a few bars of soap to scrub their skin
...

A pack of dogs is after you.
Remember, rabies.
...

They have made Noorjahan stand in a hole in the courtyard.
There she stands submerged to her waist, her head hanging.
They're throwing stones at Noorjahan,
stones that are striking my body.
...

I don't believe in God,
I look upon nature with wondering eyes.
However much I move forward grasping the hand of progress
society's hindrances take hold of my sleeve
...

Soldiers, rifles in hand, stalk about, all around.
I stand in their midst, unarmed.
The soldiers don't know me, they stare at the unarmed woman from time to time, with a strange look.
...

In the instinct of no-creature-of-Nature
the birth of a female is considered undesirable.
Only humans consider it strange.
...