Photo courtesy of AsiaNews
We are closing our eyes and we are opening them.
We are walking about the house looking at photographs.
We are calling old friends on the phone. Back at home
225 members of parliament will decide if we go ahead
In peace or if The Struggle continues on the streets,
in boardrooms and kitchens, on the island and abroad.
So much depends. Will each representative listen
to his inner drummer, his inner god, or the rustle
of cash in his pocket? Will each representative think
about the oldest democracy in South Asia and what
that means for children studying civics? Will
parliament live up to the grandeur and splendor
and promise of that day in 1948 when the dapper
and hopeful first members took their seats?
Will we begin again? We are praying with our eyes
open, and we will go to sleep knowing that when
we wake the future would have already raised some
hands in triumph and others in gestures of thanks.
That is our prayer. That is Our Struggle.
