​Orlando, oh Orlando,
my heart goes to you today.
No one has the right to take a single life
Who gave you the right to take fifty away?

You stole their love from us
You took life from fifty of us
You stole joy they brought to others.
How do we fill the void in lives
Of never returning husbands and wives
Of lost smiles of fathers and mothers.

You brought tragedy
Where there was no gravity
Where they sang, they danced and flew free.
You went where happiness showered them
You went to a place that empowered them
And, shot in the wild to cut their life tree.

Hate is in abundance today
Showing its greed every nook and every way
Oh, how badly humankind has gone astray.
Never has there been more fear
Never has it been more clear
That love, my dear, is the only way.

Orlando, oh, Orlando
my heart goes to you today.

You see, what we wanted to do,
And, what we have done.
Wanted to create an inclusive space,
Now we are segregating, holding them to the gun.

We call ourselves evolved,
We call ourselves free.
But, what good is this freedom for,
When we can’t respect the diversity tree.

How did we come so far?
We found more ways to separate than join.
Blaming religion, money, orientation and race,
We are driven solely by the coin.

Church, synagogue, mosque or temple,
The choice was made for us.
Discrimination today is everywhere and ample,
And, we wonder what’s with all the fuss?

Better life is that of a pigeon[1]
Who doesn’t worry about where to belong.
Sits one day by a priest’s kitchen.
Chirping next day the Havah Nagila song.

Hope the day is not far when
At the peace table, we all sit together and eat
Including every one — black, white, men and women,
Let go of the darkness, inequality and defeat.

Let go of the darkness, inequality and defeat.

[1] This analogy of a bird is inspired by a old Punjabi folk song sung by Wadali brothers: https://play.spotify.com/track/7ERu9UmixhMfO56ylCj5Bk