Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Peace, unembroidered






Your fingers do not know soft leaves
nor supple skein of silkworm
Only the hardness of streets 
And hiss of sharp metal blade

How you have forgotten
the years when you were young
Your hands were threading words &
lighting up candles in dark alleys 

Your bed is now thin of sorrows 
As you struggle to see the serene blue sky
above the ruins of scattered bricks
Suddenly, the air is black smoke of bitterness

As you fight for your breath
Is death the final harbinger of peace?
Whose peace?
Whose death?

You have no answer
As fling yourself to save 
a stranger 
from burst of gunfire across the street-



Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Peace hosted by Bjorn Rudberg ~  I decided to write about peace from a personal viewpoint.  

22 comments:

  1. In a way it is very true - the ultimate peace is death....
    but hopefully we are spared from that 'peace' for a long time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Im agree with this poem Grace.
    Absolutely love this .
    Remember me San Paul : "death where is your victory "?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Im agree with this poem Grace.
    Absolutely love this .
    Remember me San Paul : "death where is your victory "?

    ReplyDelete
  4. The tragic truth is there... the ultimate peace is death, but maybe if you've done something with it... there could be an aftermath..

    ReplyDelete
  5. The ultimate final peace may be death, but we can still work and pray for it here and many times, achieve it, if only for just a small space. Peace has to begin in each of us before we go out into the world - we can't just work for peace, we have to be peace.

    ReplyDelete
  6. "Peace on Earth, good will to men,"--a lovely sentimental platitude, but Peace where is thy white wings, as War fans the air with brass lead, chopping hopes into piles of the dead. This piece about peace is strong, & equally sad. I took the same bent with mine; no Pollyanna eyes amongst us. I like your lines /as I struggle to see the serene blue
    sky/above the ruins of scattered bricks/.

    ReplyDelete
  7. A lovely & touching piece.
    Beautifully penned!


    Lots of love,
    Sanaa

    ReplyDelete
  8. Such an effective use of the second person to make it come alive. Every line says so much but I especially like threading words etc...beautiful, sad poem.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is great. I love the third stanza.

    ReplyDelete
  10. True, death is final, everything is done, so that is the ultimate peace. But let's avoid that for a while yet.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I really like that second stanza. Peace to you, Grace.

    ReplyDelete
  12. "Your bed is now thin of sorrows" and "is death the final harbinger of peace?" are lines which especially grabbed me. A highly effective work, Grace.

    ReplyDelete
  13. To give life to save a stranger...sounds like peacemaking to me. "Whose peace? Whose death?" are important questions to wrestle with.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I like the use of the second person - and how you convey the waste of a whole generation of people who will know nothing other than war and fighting.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Yes, perhaps death is when we finally find the ultimate peace, so elusive in this life. Peace, Linda (Okay, so you know I always sign my comments that way, but it's going to be weird as I comment on poems to this prompt.)

    ReplyDelete
  16. There is such wistfulness in your beautiful poem, Grace ... many times I've asked myself, "Is death the final harbinger of peace?" hoping to hear that it's not. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Tough story -- it does make me thirst for peace.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Maybe death is the only harbinger of peace when living in a war zone. Brutal.

    ReplyDelete
  19. A place where
    peace is
    price of Love..
    wHere village
    SinGs connecTinG
    no longer diviDinG
    hands of fear..
    peace will
    never be
    possible
    now with
    illusory
    fears..
    Fear the
    father and
    mother of
    all hate
    related
    humans..
    yes fear
    fear..
    Love
    Free..:)

    ReplyDelete
  20. This is so beautifully written - an intense piece, delicately drawn.

    ReplyDelete
  21. thought-provoking and powerful ~

    ReplyDelete

I try my best to reciprocate comments and visits.
I allow anonymous comments if you have difficulty posting them. Thank you & have a good day!!!