OntheWilderSide

by Kimberly Wilder

Don’t think for a blue minute
peace lies in dreamy eyes of
smiling Buddha
blinking across field of pink blossoms.

Peace is no quaint scene,
not warm aroma
of homemade cookies.
Nor, sound of
luggage placed on holy ground.

Peace is constant motion,
careful balance,
endless vigil,
rush of a purposeful journey.

          Walking through bright hallways
          of quiet building
          where well-dressed people
          shuffle calmly past each day–
          is not peace.

          Peace is man in wooden shoes
          looking up at lights
          to uncover poison.

          Peace is the courage
          to speak out,
          shatter comfort,
          demand justice.

Peace is not the people
around you suddenly
linking arms and taking up song.
Peace is the cumbersome process of
controlling your own temper
so you can smile at
ornery colleagues and
small children who
contradict you.

That Buddha is not napping
in his field of delicate blossoms.
He’s resting from a conflict resolution
conference
with his roommate.
He is considering
the next move he will make
to stir petals into beauty.

Wake up to the people around you,
he calls.
Steady yourself for a long life of
patience, sincere communication,
bravery, love.

When you hear him,
you will notice the vital peace
of an artist’s hand working paint
onto huge canvases.

Filed under: Long Island Politics, Recommended Poetry, social & economic justice, To Study Up On Nonviolence Tagged: | Uncategorized