i.
Peace is a red
lipstick
I slip on
a rainy night
ii.
Peace is a kettle
whistling steam & tea
as snow outside
heavily coats
pine and maple trees
iii.
Peace is a cheap pen
I scribble
on corners of free metro paper
with words
without syntax
iv.
Peace is a wet rug
I clean
the walls
riddled with bullets
the floor
red with broken bones
v.
Peace is a paring knife
cleaving away the skin
and bones of history
only the seeds remain
to be scattered
by the birds
Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - OpenLinkNight ~ Wishing everyone peace and light in the coming holiday season ! Take care and see you next year !!!!
Ooooh, a mix of things peace can be, some less palatable than others... I do wish the holiday season could bring real peace, but alas!
ReplyDeleteI love this... the complexity and sacrifice that's needed for peace... really the bones to be picked. If peace is nothing else than a cease of fire, then I always wonder what remains afterwards. A timely piece.
ReplyDeleteThis is soo beautiful and eloquently penned, love "Peace is a paring knife cleaving away the skin and bones of history
ReplyDeleteonly the seeds remain to be scattered by the birds"
Peace sometimes comes at a price and yet peace can exist in all the simple things. Beautifully written Grace, the simplicity of 'Peace is a kettle
ReplyDeletewhistling steam & tea' is gorgeous. Thank you for all your hosting and for your support and I wish you a very blessed festive season and a very happy and peaceful new year xxx
I especially like these sections:
ReplyDelete"Peace is a cheap pen
I scribble
on corners of free metro paper
with words
without syntax"
"Peace is a wet rug
I clean
the walls
riddled with bullets"
Peace is so illusive & often impossible to sustain. I love #4 & #5 stanzas. Is it man's arrogance, greed & bellicose nature that complicates the mix? Perhaps--but world peace is like a cure for cancer, achievable but hidden.
ReplyDeleteI love this, Grace. The second one made me feel warm inside, the fourth was a punch in the gut and the final stanza summed it up so well - excellent!
ReplyDeleteI love your vignettes on peace, Grace. I have to agree with Glenn. Peace is achievable but kept hidden because there are those who profit from the lack of it.
ReplyDeleteWooh! Love the way you pulled me in here Grace towards such gritty and meaningful denouement - love your telling finish too - a virtuoso piece, for sure...
ReplyDeletePeace to you and your family, too. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.
Such stark contrasts between the various stanzas. I was settling in with contentment at the second one when you jerked me out of my complacency with the 4th.
ReplyDeleteYikes!I agree with Victoria...
ReplyDeleteZQ
Playing with our minds a little.
ReplyDeleteThat last stanza had me worried
Well done
Beautiful verses, love the tea kettle analogy especially.
ReplyDeleteI love the last stanza best. It leaves me hoping that of the seeds to be scattered, the healthy ones outnumber the sick.
ReplyDeleteDidn't see the 4th coming. Yes, peace can be a messy thing.
ReplyDeleteI know I'll be thinking about this poem. Beautiful words, and mind, Grace.
Love the end. Peace and light to you and yours ❤️
ReplyDeleteloved this....such depth and imagination.......great!
ReplyDeletePeace sure always seems to come at a cost. Hopefully you have a peaceful holiday season.
ReplyDeleteLike this very much. The takes are so varied - and I like the order -- from red lipstick (a cosmetic) to the floor covered in red bones -- stark reality -- to seeds - the smallest grains.
ReplyDeleteA crescendo of perspective here from peace easily attained in the little moments of life like a warm cup of tea all the way to peace being nothing more than a pause to clean up the destruction. Wow. It seems we were both thinking about peace for the last OLN this year. Wishing you a wonderful, peaceful holiday for you and all those that you love. xo
ReplyDeleteGrace, these are so powerful and vivid, especially the floor red with broken bones.May 2017 be better than 2016. My best hope. Peace to you and yours, dear friend.
ReplyDeleteSo raw!! No lipstick on this pig, ode to the times we're living in. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteSo raw!! No lipstick on this pig, ode to the times we're living in. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteA beauty and calm in your juxtaposition of words here, Grace. You have captured so much in these lines.
ReplyDeleteWow. Some of those toward the end had me feeling not so very peaceful...
ReplyDeleteA bit of a punch there.
What can I say, the last stanza revealed it all, it was so desolate in its accuracy and beauty.
ReplyDeleteLovely. I especially liked part 4...it was clear that there was violence, but there was the peace in the cleaning up...of restoration.
ReplyDeleteI love this...yes, peace comes in several shapes and forms :)
ReplyDeleteonly the seeds remain
ReplyDeleteto be scattered
by the birds
That is how it has been mistreated and nothing seems to change!
Hank
Grace you certainly exposed the dichotomous nature of peace. Sometimes it does come only as an aftermath.
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful, Grace. I love v.
ReplyDeleteVery well articulated. Peace. I wish we achieve world peace in my lifetime.
ReplyDeleteGood job on this one. Sounds like Peace is comfort, and like the band Boston said, "All that I want is to have my peace of mind..."
ReplyDelete