Happy Marriage
My life, like a sandbar,
has been taken over by a monster of a man
who wants my body under his control
so that, if he wishes, he can spit in my face,
……. slap me on the cheek,
pinch my rear;
so that, if he wishes, he can rob me of the clothes,
and take my naked beauty in his grip;
So that, if he wishes. he can chain my feet,
if he wishes, with no qualms whatsoever,
……. whip me,
chop off my hands, my fingers,
sprinkle salt in the open wound,
throw ground-up black pepper in my eyes,
with a dagger can slash my thigh,
can string me up and hang me.
His goal: to control my heart
so that I would love him;
in my lonely house at night
sleepless, full of anxiety,
clutching at the window grille,
……..I would wait for him and sob;
tears rolling down, I would bake homemade bread,
would drink, as if they were ambrosia,
the filthy liquids of his polygynous body
so that, loving him, I would melt like wax,
not turning my eyes toward any other man.
I would give proof of my chastity all my life.
So that, loving him,
on some moonlit night
I would commit suicide
……. in a fit of ecstasy.
.
by Taslima Nasrin
from Poetry 180
random house 2003