Monday, May 22, 2017

Breathing Peace



Breathe in the cacophony
of the quarrelsome talking heads;
breathe out the birdsong
of a thousand singing forests.

Breathe in the gazillion dollar contracts
for military weapons, and the talk of war;
breathe out a billion wildflowers
cascading down the side of a mountain.
Breathe out armloads of hopeful babies,
and their  mothers, wanting only 
to raise them in peace,
with enough to eat, 
and a future in which to live.

Breathe in the bombs and death camps,
the captive girls, the child soldiers,
the young men whose guarded eyes 
have seen too much,
whose dreams have become nightmares;
breathe out a prayer of peace,
that will float across the world,
entering the neocortexes of 
the maddened guerillas,
rendering them transformed,
from fighters to friends of humanity,
who cannot kill again.

Breathe in earthquakes, explosions, 
fracking, flooding,
melting glaciers at the top and bottom poles;
breathe out restored balance, reduced emissions,
cooling land and oceans,  survival
for sea life and coastal communities.
Breathe out armies of people
cleaning and restoring 
the ocean and the land, 
and planting trees, 
everywhere.

Breathe in the toxic nightmare of today's politics;
breathe out a flock of sandpipers, 
moving as one body at the edge of the sea,
just as we can move together,
if we but have 
the intelligence and will.
Breathe out stars, and bioluminescence,
silver paths upon the water,
and a moon, serenely smiling
upon a land of gentle dreamers.

Breathe in walls and division;
breathe out harmony and unity:
no "us" and "them" - just people of the earth,
who wish to raise their children
towards a brighter tomorrow.

Breathe in despair, hopelessness, 
displacement, famine;
breathe out prayers that last 
from morning to nightfall
for a hurting world.
Pray for humankind
to become conscious,
as a whole,
Pray for evolution,
for transformation.
Pray,
then do what you can,
where you are.


It seems the news is getting me down. Keep focussing on peace, my friends, and let's take what action we can to fix what is near at hand. Plant trees. Voice objections to elected officials. There is much to resist.


16 comments:

  1. Exactly right. The better time is coming. It all starts here. Let us not give power to the shadows of destruction. But let us join hands with those working for that better day.

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  2. Thank you, Martin.........hands across the planet...it is the only way. Those at the top dont want to do it. We at the bottom are more numerous - and more aware - than they.

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  3. Sherry, this reads like a prayer, for humanity, to change our destructive way, in the healing of our universe and who we are.

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  4. What an anthem! I hope you perform this or present it at a mindfulness class. We need to tend to what this is doing to us and remember what is true and lasting. I've been listening to the birdsong more to counter the news which I do follow.

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  5. I wonder why it's so difficult... I just hope that reality will show that walking backwards is not a solution...

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  6. I can understand how you feel Sherry, the news is dreadful these days and we can't help but feel down. But.. with positivity and poetry by our side.. we can truly make a difference!!

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  7. This is hopeful. Man, I've been having a hard time breathing. I don't want to breathe any of that in anymore. We are choking.

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  8. That poem is like a meditative chant...if only...if only....

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  9. I stared amazed all the way through. Yes, we should pray as "breathe out a prayer of peace, that will float across the world..."
    I liked your use of the 'word' gazillion. I have used it also, mostly in rants or very informal writing. It is a word though.
    ..

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  10. Resist, speak out, shout. That's what we all have to do. You're right to find the times depressing. We're on our way down the plug hole if we don't do something soon.

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  11. Beautifully written – and this would work wonderfully as both a meditative and a magical practice. (May I post it – with accreditation and copyright statement) – on my Cronewyze blog?

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  12. Sherry this is monumental. I love it.I sit with a mindfulness group from time to time and always a poem is shared. Could I share this with them please?

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  13. ...the problem are those who don't care and will do harm until they are forced to stop. Sometimes standing up to "them" requires violence - and that is so sad. But if ONLY more would face the bullies in unison - then maybe we could avoid wars... How I hate the wasted lives ... it is certainly a battle to maintain a peace within ourselves these days. breath in breath out.... very effective here in this poem.

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  14. Even the breathing has become so difficult Sherry, with ever higher concentration of ozone and clouds of construction dust flying around in these parts of the world!

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