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.