The rainbow will return in the Delhi sky

Ashok Silwal / Kathmandu, Nepal

World Press Freedom Day today,
Such a striking and meaningful celebration.
Ideas are king:
Reflections, comments, beliefs, and doubts,
The spirit cannot stop,
The mind must not stop.

But …
Let me use my heart today,
For compassion and pity
In the streets of New Delhi,
In the despair of the young woman
Whose father is dying suffocated,
In the hopelessness of the old man
Lying down on the ground, emptied,
In the screamed cries of the crowd
Looking for any help
In the bleakness of disorder…
In the flames of makeshift crematoriums,
In the nightmare of funeral pyres
And bodies burning….
Merciless images of the media…

Outstretched arms,
Rusty oxygen cylinders
Waiting to be filled
Hospital doors locked…

New Delhi is sinking…

This is not the time of controversy
Even in World Press Freedom Day
It is time for prayers,
For emotional participation,
For empathy,
In the face of the cruelty of events,
In the face of inhumanity,
In the face of beastliness…
I’m thinking of you deeply, my Indian friends..

The rainbow will return in Delhi sky;
And the Taj Mahal will continue to reflect
In the water of the basin
In the surrounding Moghul gardens,
From the sunrise to the sunset,
In the name of Love.
Do not doubt!
Strength and courage from my heart!