Yusra Amjad is part of an emerging generation of Pakistani writers — she is bold enough to speak up against censorship, against oppression and against institutionalized sexism.

Tarazoo

(Yusra Amjad)

What is more infinitely gentle
than the touch of a man
arranging fruit on cart?

On a concrete corner
I see cracked brown hands
pick a pair of amrood
on two stems kissing like cherries
lifted with love and wetly placed
on the top pile like an advertisement.

You should see the men in narrow streets
between rows and rows of bright coloured globes
coaxing oranges into pyramids
you should see the coarse thumbs
caressing mango curves
you should see the downy cheeks
of peaches being stroked
you should see man after man
turning apples in their hands
polishing them to an Eden sheen
before going home to beat their wives.