On Peace and War
On Peace and War
Peace shapes like a cry that clings to the throat
A cry in a mute mouth
A cry of anger, rebellious, alert
A mute scream
Escapes through the eyes
A cry in a silent mouth
Yet, if peace exists, war coexists
Latent, both vanish in distance and memory
The farther they are, the further they are
It’s not fair. We know it’s not fair
Peace becomes visible when war makes it invisible
It’s a human affair. We know it’s a human affair
War is a human affair
It expands or shrinks geography
Demography dissolves in the news
Enigmatic statistics satisfy sadistic thirst
Truth, however, is not the first casualty
Vocabulary is. The dictionary is
War alters the meaning of words
It backs the politician’s face
Alas! But the spectators are us
Passive /pensive/permissive
Silent accessories to a constant curse
Oh, men, get reconciled, bring up the child
Forget the pride. Get reconciled
Peace shapes like a cry that clings to the throat
A cry in a mute mouth
A voiceless cry
And because peace is voiceless
We think it’s passive, quiet, serene
But, no, it’s not, peace is not mute
Don’t be fooled
Yes, and it’s said that there is peace in death
Alas! That’s wrong
For if only you knew
About the obscene frenzy that takes place
In you, around you, once your eyes are forever closed
Then, you would know how far death from peace is
Indeed, peace is a cry, a mute cry
That clings to the throat but shows through the eyes
Alas! Peace shakes us. It awakes us.
It pushes us to think, what are we?
How could we recover what we lost at birth?
Peace at a distance is transparent and clean
Like a calm lake
Replicates the sun, reflects the moon, and the soul rests
But, when we are already on the water
A slight breeze and the canoe sways
Then there is fear, and we learn how fragile we are
So, when depth promises us death
It’s good to hold peace in an embrace
Because we need peace to claim our space
For only in fear do we call peace near
For only in fear do we call peace dear.
