"Kaari"

Attiya Dawood is a well known Sindhi and Urdu feminist poet of Pakistan. You can read collection of her urdu poems "Sharafat ka pul" here and english traslation "raging to be free" here.

(Thanks to zakintosh for tip)


To my daughter

Even if they brand you a "kari"And condemn you to death,
Then choose death, but live to love.
Don’t sit pretty in the show-case of respectability You must live to love.
In the desert of thirsty desires
Don’t be like a cactus, but live to love.
If somebody’s fond memories
Come slowly to you,
Then smile and live to love.
What can they do? They may stone you to death
But in a single moment You can attain all of life. You must live to love.
They may call it a sin.
So what? Bear it,But live to love