Jameela Nishat's insightful and compelling verse transcends both the political and the personal. Well known for her activist poetry and keen sensitivity to issues related to women's empowerment, she has been a longtime champion of social justice and communal harmony. Her pen flows with compassion for the human condition and highlights her protest against the inherent injustices of society. At the same time Jameela Nishat's humanistic and philosophical writing retains a lyrical and feminine sensuality most evident in her deeply personal contemplations on love, loss and pain. Her poems come across as a gentle but forceful reminder of the importance of peace and tolerance, and shine a ray of hope and courage in the face of adversity at a time when clouds of intolerance and violence cast their dark shadows on the world. Jameela Nishat's soulful urdu verse has been sensitively rendered into English by Hoshang Merchant, Kelly Jo-Cigman and Uma Damodar Sridhar in this volume where she tries to capture the fragility and pathos of human existence. With each poem a subtle reflection of a moment, poignant and delicate in form and expression, these Butterfly Caresses will haunt you long after you finish reading them...