I was inspired to write this poem after reading "The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People," by Jonathan Schell.
Peace is not apathy,
Living numbed, dumbed and unknowing
In the forged calm of
Consigned resignation
To the status quo
That relies on
The gore of violence,
And the cruelty of injustice,
Its haunted offspring,
For a sham peace.
In a world
Ennerved with technology,
Made small
Through our encounters
With each other,
Violence is not sustainable,
It no longer works
To solve problems.
Violence spawns more violence,
Kills possibilities,
Narrowing our definition
Of who we are.
And the violence of injustice
Maims our spirit,
Cramps our becoming
The next avatar
Of who we can be.
Peace is active,
Choosing
To shed the dogma of violence
As a means to settle difference,
Relieve our alienation,
And achieve identity,
To let go the resentment
That past violence has bred,
And relinquish
The false privilege
Of exploitation
Of the earth
And each other.
Peace chooses
To forgive
And find hope.
Peace opts
To be,
To do,
To become
Our next best self.
Peace asks us
To choose
To herald a new moral of
Entangling
And engaging
With each other,
To engender the morale
Of peace,
To write
A right-minded ethic
Of freedom to become.
Peace wants us
To develop nascent skills
Of responsiveness, responsibility and respect,
Dialogue and debate,
Of self-awareness
And self-regulation,
Learning to hold back
And wait
Before rushing to violence
And revenge.
Peace safeguards us
And shows compassion
For ourselves.
Peace is
The ultimate option
Of freedom.
In peace, we live our freedom.
Truly free, we choose peace.
You and I make peace,
Together we can,
Build a path to peace,
A place of peace,
Together we can
Create a destiny of peace
And become
Peacemaker of the universe.
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The Morning After
Previous poems in my Peace Anthology
Peace Poem I: The Courage of Peace published on April 12, 2006
Peace Poem II: The Vigor of Peace published on April 12, 2006
Peace Poem III: The Comfort of Peace published on April 12, 2006
Peace Poem IV: The Safety of Peace published on April 12, 2006
Peace Poem V: The Exhilaration of Peace published on October 21, 2006
Peace Poem VI: The Diversity of Peace published on October 21, 2006
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Comments: 15
Jim, making peace--moving to non-violent ways to settle difference or to get what we want--will take awhile to accomplish, but it's possible. In our shrinking world, violence to solve problems is extremely wasteful and is no longer sustainable. Violence worked in the past because it affected discrete areas and because communication about it could be contained and submerged. For centuries, the countries/ethnic groups of Europe fought each other. Finally, after World War II, they began to realize they were destroying themselves and decided to join together in what was to become the European Union.
Nancy, yes, moving to non-violence and reaching peace will require diverse skills. And some of the quietest people may know the most about peace. But the starting point is relinquishing the mindset that violence solves problems.
I enjoyed the poem.
The trouble is that a necessary but not sufficient condition for the kind of realization that resulted in the EU is a level of economic and political advancement that many of the most violence prone nations don't have. Europe had to go through those devastating centuries of war before their epiphany.
Take middle Africa for example. At the current level of economic and political development, violence actually sustains many of the leaders in power, and will do so for their lifetimes. These leaders have no incentive for peaceful solutions.
Even closer to home, our own president is surrounded by people who seem to believe that violence is the answer to some of our most troubling issues. Thus economic and political development alone will not eliminate war.
I couldn't agree more. The way you have personified peace as a living, breathing, active entity is much to your credit. Violence has completely outgrown itself in this day and age.
Yesterday's Chicago Tribune carried an interesting article, "Hospital attacks disease of violence" (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-intervene_22jan22,0,2312134.story) and told about an innovative partnership of Advocate Christ Medical Center with CeaseFire, an initiative of the Chicago Project for Violence Prevention. The hospital treated 800 victims of gun or stabbing violence in 2007, and 400 of them received aid from CeaseFire. If a victim of violence is determined to be a candidate for intervention, the hospital calls in CeaseFire to work with the victims and their families. Some quotes from the article:
Dr. James Doherty, chief of trauma services, "We recognize that violence is a public health issue and that we should think about it the same way we think about cancer and cardiovascular disease."
Dr. Gary Slutkin, founder of CeaseFire, "We don't see it in the realm of good people and bad people. . . . These are people who have learned a bunch of stuff that doesn't work. Prevention is about changing the social norm."
Violence breeds violence. Today's Tribune carried a short article about a suicide bomber attacking a high school in Baghdad. The article noted the trend of Al Qaeda shifting to "soft" targets and concluded, "The backlash also coincides with a U.S.-led offensive trying to uproot insurgents from strongholds around Baghdad."
Thanks, Michelle and Rose for your comments and affirmation.
I know my poetry doesn't appeal to a widespread audience, and so I'd never expect to see it featured. But it is meaningful to me that it speaks to some people. I appreciate each one of you. Thank you.
Life is so beautiful, why do people ruin it by going to war?
-Some people have grown up/lived in a culture of violence. To them violence is the way to solve problems.
-Different cultures have different values. Values are deeply held beliefs and when the cultures are "thrown" together, the cultural clash may result in violence if the groups haven't developed skills/laws for dealing with different opinions with respect and fairness.
-The huge difference between haves and have nots (in its various forms, such as economically and educationally) is social injustice. Individuals on the various sides may be hostile toward others and not have the skills to deal with the issue peacefully or may want to punish the other side.
-Violence may seem exciting to some. They want the chance to be the hero/heroine violence may seem to give them because it makes them feel alive. It's this aspect of violence this poem tried to address--to let people know that peace gives us the milieu to become the person we want/need to be. Becoming that person is exciting. Peace does not mean we become couch potatoes. It's active.
There are other aspects to peace. I'm so glad, maria that you long for peace. We need more people like you to "speak" up on behalf of peace.
Peace chooses
To forgive
And find hope.
Peace opts
To be,
To do,
To become
Our next best self.
So many times people think "peace" is something to be achieved in the world. But, really ... it is something within all of us. We all need to choose to be "our better selves" because the alternative is too destructive - as we see time and time again. I don't believe any individual or culture is more/less capable of peace ... we are all human, with all our faults and greatness. It's about time we start living up to our untapped potential.