The heart’s a disobedient girl
Don’t explain her studies to her
Her textbooks are ripped, with her spit she has
Rubbed off the indelible script of fate
In the blue grammar book
She’s scribbled boys’ names
Even their pictures
The heart’s a disobedient girl
You want to punish her? She won’t care

Published with permission from Modern Bengali Poetry: Desire for Fire, Bee Books, translated from the Bengali.

This selection is curated by Yamini Krishnan.