08/03/2025
A Woman is Laughing
Under the singing watch�of a rocky mountain
a woman is laughing.�
No fame, no money�
but bold with the guts�of a free body:�
a woman laughing.
In all the world’s temples,�
you will not hear the lush tremor�
of a woman laughing.�
In the market of all treasures,�
you will not find the baby balm�
of a woman laughing.�
This rare narcotic she bears�so freely cannot be captive, sold.
Come then, become breeze.
n the wild valley, lapping�her face with kisses –�
hair flying long and loose,�
wind’s daughter is singing�alongside the wind:�
a woman is laughing.
Fahmida Riaz
Translated from Urdu by Ankita Saxena
