Dr. Roopali penned this poem for Daniel Pearl, on the Eid of 2002, when he was beheaded. A tribute, exclusively for Different Truths.

(In grief for Daniel Pearl)

What time was it when the insane 
camera disgorged its darkness 
To capture in colour 
The blackness of hell?

What time was it in Hell
When they pried your gentle
Head in search of Allah’s
Pearl?

At that time
did Your
manacled hands 
hold in place
the aeons of Time in which
Moses led God’s chosen Pearls
Across the sea to Jehovah’s
Promised Land?

At that Time who did you call out to?
who did they call out to?
who did they think they called out to?
who will we call out to?
who will the Pearl that sleeps
its foetal sleep of peace
inside Marianne’s terror
filled womb
call out to?

When
the scrolled paper fell         
like one swiftly beheaded
leaving a bloody trail            
at my door          
at many doors
across sleepy cities
what time was it?

It was that Time 
when from marble minarets
the Muezzin called the
the faithful to prayer
echoing the name of God
across Pearl white domes of Time.

It was the holy Time of Eid.
A time for sacrifice. 

Author’s Note: I wrote a poem on the day Journalist Daniel Pearl was beheaded and a video was being circulated. It was Eid, Feb 2002. I was just leaving home to celebrate with dear friends. The newspaper lying at the door rolled up carrying the story. I couldn’t go to the celebrations. I stayed home and wrote this poem. Daniel Pearl’s wife Mariane was expecting his child. 

Picture design by Anumita Roy, Different Truths

Dr. Roopali Sircar Gaur

Dr. Roopali Sircar Gaur is a poet, travel writer, and social justice activist. A former professor of English Literature at Delhi University, and a creative writing professor at IGNOU, she is a widely published academic and creative writer. Her book Twice Colonised: Women in African Literature, is a seminal text on women’s socio-political empowerment. In 2020-21, she co-edited two poetry anthologies – In All the Spaces: Diverse Voices in Global Women’s Poetry, and Earth Fire Water Wind.