A Prayer for Afghanistan!

Four thousand

Six hundred

and Forty Four Kilometers

This is the distance between Cairo..

and “Kabul”

That great distance

Is breaking my heart

From that distance

Coming pictures

Coming pain

in the speed of light

I watch the images pouring down on us from Afghanistan, on my phone

The images of the poor

The distressed

The betrayed

I follow the press reporters as they transmit to us everything that happens in sound and image

I put two fingers on the arteries of my neck

I measure my rising blood pressure

Angry heartbeat

I land my fingers back on the phone screen

And I scroll through Twitter

And I scroll through the heartbreaking news feed

I see the good Afghans holding their children high

over the barbed wire

They are trying to get them to safety

It’s like they’re in a flood

They seek Noah’s ark

For a plane to take them anywhere

Anywhere except:

their home

I see horror

I see fear

I see the beautiful country

Crossing decade after decade

Without knowing the taste of comfort

Without seizing the taste of the homeland

I would like to reach out for them with my hand

Carrying a branch of peace

Carrying a flower

Carrying a mouthful of water

Carrying a cradle for a child

Carrying a verse from the Qur’an

Carrying serenity from the plains of Faryab

Or a beam from the light of Malala’s smart eyes

But four thousand

Six hundred

and four

forty

kilometers

Stop me

Tear me apart

I put two fingers on my neck

And -helpless- all I can do

is to pray

for them -and for us-

Pray for the grace of serenity

That serenity which seems -also- so far

So hard

So unreachable

But, i Pray.