Happy Marriage

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,
take my naked beauty in his grip;
so that, if he wishes.
he can chain my feet,
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.


-Taslima Nasrin-