The Invincible Gauri Poem by DEEPAK KUMAR PATTANAYAK

The other day I heard
And the day following it was a headline
That Gauri is dead
And who is Gauri
I knew not then that I am sorry
She was a newswoman
Bold, fearless and wise
Brought news of daily events
Based on truth and facts
Some doubt and some suspect
And in consequence born towards her an animosity
Of some fools and some cowards
The truth never they could comprehend nor stand
So the truth succumbed to the bullet
Leaving behind only hypothesis
Over which political bickering and personal vendetta surface
Leading to nowhere with every passing hour
Since five days have gone
But to no avail to hunt the suspects down
Only the gullible are falling for this line
Turning aside the crumbs to its logical destiny
Anyway I salute her for not submitting to those cowards
Who can go to any extent for the sake of money
Bribe them, they will kill their parents
Bribe them, they will kill their own children
Bribe them, they will kill even themselves
Bribe them, they will kill their souls
Hers is a small fry
Over which none seems will ever cry
The real bird has already flown the coop and in a few days ahead
Some pasty wearing a scarf around his neck
And flanked by some smug policemen will be paraded
And soon the case will be closed
To me Gauri is not dead rather she was killed
In fact we are dead and we don't need to be killed

(Dedicated this poem to Gauri Lankesh who succumbed to bullet
Fighting a brave life of journalism defying death)