As I prepare for this post, snow flurries melt outside the garden. I have completed my weekend chores, and I marveled how clean and quiet and yes, peaceful my surrounding is. The little bit of chaos was in the mall where Christmas shopping has already started with marketing promotions. I am indeed blessed that we can freely move about in the streets, going through our normal routine.
I know that in some parts of the world, this may not be so. Peace between some countries remains elusive, as also a “normal” life for some unfortunate families. As poets, we have the power to share the message of peace through our spoken and written words. Allow me to share two poems about peace:
First one is the performance poetry slam by A Muslin and Jewish Girl, a project by Search for Common Ground: Poetry for Peace
Second one is the poem by Palestinian American poet Naomi Shihab Nye. Like Stafford, Nye often writes in an approachable style whose surface clarity belies the complex currents within. As importantly, Nye’s poetry embraces the tough conciliatory spirit—steely in its commitment to openness and generosity—that marked Stafford’s life and work. While peace poetry may occasionally provoke, it also must dramatize the sometimes tentative, sometimes outlandish reaching across the distances between antagonists.
In “Jerusalem,” Nye addresses the conflict at the heart of the holy city by naming our fundamental woundedness, a pain that often leads us to lash out: “each carries a tender spot: / something our lives forgot to give us.” Though this poem’s eagle-eye view of the conflict is provocative (one Palestinian student argued eloquently against the first stanza’s seemingly blithe approach to historical grievances), Nye’s visionary declaration about the riddle of healing, the possibility of fighting off hate, and the necessity of orienting ourselves toward a future where “everything comes next” feels like a necessary antidote to the hopeless poisons of past and present.
Naomi Shihab Nye, “Jerusalem”
“Let’s be the same wound if we must bleed.
Let’s fight side by side, even if the enemy
is ourselves: I am yours, you are mine.”
—Tommy Olofsson, Sweden
I’m not interested in
who suffered the most.
I’m interested in
people getting over it.
Once when my father was a boy
a stone hit him on the head.
Hair would never grow there.
Our fingers found the tender spot
and its riddles: the boy who has fallen
stands up. A bucket of pears
in his mother’s doorway welcomes him home.
The pears are not crying.
Lately his friend who threw the stone
says he was aiming at a bird.
And my father starts growing wings.
Each carries a tender spot:
something our lives forgot to give us.
A man builds a house and says,
“I am native now.”
A woman speaks to a tree in place
of her son. And olives come.
A child’s poem says,
“I don’t like wars,
they end up with monuments.”
He’s painting a bird with wings
wide enough to cover two roofs at once.
Why are we so monumentally slow?
Soldiers stalk a pharmacy:
big guns, little pills.
If you tilt your head just slightly
it’s ridiculous.
There’s a place in this brain
where hate won’t grow.
I touch its riddles: wind and seeds.
Something pokes us as we sleep.
It’s late but everything comes next.
If you would like to share a poem about peace (and this can be your own), feel free to share the words or link in the comment section below. Thanks for dropping by today. See you tomorrow for Poetics and Thursday for OpenLinkNight!
Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed the two poems ~
I did enjoy the one I could read, the other I need to find a quiet spot to listen to… I will have to think about a peace poem.. I have written a few… (maybe)
Peace is a worthy cause to write about… but just like love it’s hard to find words that doesn’t sound lame. To write poem about the horrors of war is another thing.. but the more I think about it it’s not about peace really..
I agree, Bjorn. Writing about peace is not easy.
Like love, peace is a tough and challenging theme to write to so it doesn’t come across as trite but fresh and engaging to the reader ~ The use of metaphors will certainly help bring the message across ~
I can share an antiwar poem I wrote the other day, after listening to the cries after the terrible deeds of Paris…
Rebirth of war
From hungry soil, from mud of Flander’s field
see shell-shocked souls and poppy’s flown, in cries
from clay of Sommes, Verdun, from rats and lice
from smell of soggy uniforms, congealed
with gangrene memories. From chlorine gas,
in voices harsh from bleeding lungs, they sing
a hymn that echoes from the crystal glass
of presidents and generals, who bring
across a century (our souls still sore)
from Iraq and Syria: rebirth of war.
Sadly the rebirth of war is affecting us all ~ I like the turn from Flander’s field to shell-shocked souls Bjorn ~ Thanks for the share ~
I chose that video about the two girls because sometimes we can learn from the innocent children who don’t see colors nor hatred but rather a common ground ~
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be a rebirth of war but instead, an intensification of long standing hostilities and fighting. The innocents are the victims and those fighting don’t seem to care. I pray for peace.
What a powerful way of linking past and present – and making us wonder if we ever learn from historical mistakes…
Powerful expression!
I do remember as children we had to write a poem for peace (maybe it was just after the Camp David agreements, because we were at an international school and had both Jewish and Palestinian students), and the results were spectacularly lame and didactic. It can sound very prosaic if you go general, but perhaps one story, one example, one really concrete instance is so much better.
And you quote Naomi Shihab Nye, who got me started writing poetry again. Love her work!
Writing peace poem must be as hard as writing love poems…
I agree about the need to be concrete and specific so the message is clearer ~ I know about writing peace poems for the sake of it ~ When I read it now, it is very lame, smiles ~
The spontaneous poems for peace seem to hit the hardest and be the strongest. writing about love and peace as a “have to” I agree, can seem lame and contrived. The poem selected for this post is so amazing in its images and thoughts. I have a feeling, it came straight from the heart and soul.
I linked a poem Sunday on another poetic community. I will give the link for it here. it is not a fancy poem or grand one, but it is a simple plea/prayer for peace. Growing up in the 60’s, I was part of the antiwar movement much to my father’s conservative chagrin. But he was not for war either. He was of the old school of believing the government is right and it was hard for him to put together that disagreeing with the government was also patriotism. In the 10th grade, my cousin, his first nephew, was killed in Viet Nam. It brought back so many painful memories of WWII and being part of the Third Army, being a sharpshooter. Now they call them snipers. He did a flip and often spoke of those experiences at some of the Peace rallies. Here is the link to my poem: https://kanzensakura.wordpress.com/2015/11/22/sunday-morning-1000-a-m/
Thanks for the link Toni ~ The simple prayer resonates deeply ~
Thank you Grace for this timely and beautiful subject.
I am glad you liked the poems Toni ~ Reading the news lately has been difficult for me and in Canada, we are specially grappling with the issue of settling in 25,000 Syrian refugees before the year end because it was promised by our newly elected PM ~ You can imagine the sentiments here, both sides loud with their arguments, and contending with the racial and religious issues ~ But we are talking and helping to understand the challenges coming when these refugees come in ~
And people in this country – all of us descended from immigrants and refugees, raring up on their hind legs and refusing to admit them entrance to the various states if the refugees are approved to enter this country. Denying women and children help is just wrong and cruel. I am ashamed.
I read about that and hope that maybe our experience will help some lawmakers change their minds? Its the fear that is preying on our thoughts, and making it difficult to care for these women and children. I hope Obama’s message of compassion will come through the clouds of fear and judgement.
I hope as well. So much negativity and posturing – we humans are a bunch of bellicose creatures for sure.
Excellent concept of melding the two sides of pain into a common pool of emotions shared.
Thank you Kathy ~ I think we have more of a “common ground” than differences with each other ~
Grace, I agree with Toni. This was a very timely post. I have long been a fan of Naomi Shihab Nye! The poem you shared was very moving.
Thank you Mary ~ I also liked the quote in the beginning of her poem ~
This is such a heartfelt poem – I love the conclusion. Here’s my response http://artifactsandfictions.com/2015/11/23/poetry-for-peace/
Thank you Suzanne for the lovely share ~
Glad you chose this topic, Grace, with a beautiful poem by Nye! I’m currently reading Whose Land? Whose Promise? by Gary M. Burge considering the difficult Israeli/Palestine question. Here’s a simple tanka i wrote a few days ago as a prayer:
http://madhatterpoetry.com/2015/11/18/salaamshalom-be-upon-you/
A beautiful prayer indeed Lynn ~ Thanks for the tanka ~
Peace, one of those words so simple to define, so difficult to achieve. There are hawks, & bellicose among us that claim human nature is such that war is inevitable in all nations, at all times. For the Dick Cheneys & other war mongers it i sad that there is less profit for them during peace. I wrote a poem dealing with the difficulty in the middle east today; QUAGMIRE:
http://bibliosity.blogspot.com/2015/03/quagmire.html
I remember this poem Glenn ~ Ironic that ISIS now is a force to reckon with ~ But maybe just a different group or name but the same extremist beliefs that plays with our fears ~ Peace is not a good business strategy, I know but prolonging this war is not good either ~ Thanks Glenn ~
I too remember this poem. There is so much negativity, hate, stubborn belief in “my” side being right and “your” side being wrong – one cannot reason with groups intent on hate, fear, murdering innocents. I have to try to pray for peace and to do what little good I can to promote it – and this mess has been going on in the middle east since Jacob and Esau – one has to at one think they really only care about their side and nuts to anyone else. I don’t think it will ever be solved but what is worse is when they draw others into their battles, just like in past World Wars and be damned to the innocent.
I just finished watching the video. I have tears in my eyes.
I think we can learn a lot from children Bryan ~ Thanks for watching the video ~
Hi Grace, I’m packing to leave tomorrow morning but wanted to come by the pub and thank you for a timely and meaningful posting. It is hard to write about peace in a worldwide sense when it’s often absent and obscure. But my question is, what about the peace that we can cultivate within our own hearts, right here, right now? This peace within us will then go out into the world as we express and share ourselves. Maybe that’s the best thing as individuals we can do for this crazy mixed up world. I wrote the following poem a few years ago about the practice of finding my own peace within:
In the quiet of the evening
When all is still and tranquil
I breathe in deep and sense my essence
Pure, everlasting acquiescence
The gentle silence of the night
Soothes me into peaceful harmony
No thoughts invade to bring discord
Turned within, I find serenity
Sitting motionless, relaxed and steady
I feel composed and undisturbed
The whole of the cosmos supports my state
I’m in alignment; a smile escapes
Joy transcends all here below
Energy tickles its way upward
Merging powers serve to greet me
My Oneness revealed; I’m blessed completely
Peace,
Gayle
I like this and it is so true. If we cannot obtain peace within, how can we share peace?
Thanks much, Toni.
It starts with the self, doesn’t it? But it always amazes me how many people completely lack self-awareness or a moment of tranquility within themselves… A poem to medidate by – I love it!
So true, it’s in our heart it lies…
I agree Gayle, peace starts with ourselves and finding that joy and energy from within ~ Thanks for sharing it with us and enjoy your Thanksgiving ~
Thank you, Grace, it should be a fun week, really looking forward to it.
P.S. I really enjoyed the two poems, especially the video of the two girls…loved it! Thanks, Grace…
Thank for dropping by Gayle ~
I believe that any effort to write a poem about peace has a positive effect…at the very least it arouses our own thoughts about the subject. We do need to take more of an active role to promote peace. It begins in the minds of the very young and there are so many ways we can influence these precious minds.
Artists4peace on WordPress is a great place to share poetry about peace. I have submitted a few, including the two links below and I would encourage all my dverse friends to check it out.
https://mishunderstood.wordpress.com/2015/03/05/speaking-of-peace/
https://mishunderstood.wordpress.com/2015/11/11/peace-haiku/
Thank you for sharing your poems ~ I will check out the link ~
My contribution for world peace. Please share your views.
http://jumbledhead.blogspot.com/2015/11/s-for-sacrifice.html
Thank you Hema ~
I could finally listen to the the video… and if that could just happen more the world would be safer…
I think its all about finding the common ground ~ Thanks Bjorn ~
Thank you Grace. These are so good. I don’t have a peace poem to share. It’s all too much for me to process, and each time I start there is another horror. Things like these pieces help to keep me from despair.
Thank you OtherMary ~
Exactly, it sure does. If you can’t find it within what chance do we have for it out in the world. Thank you, MarinaSofia.
http://writingonjusttowrite.blogspot.in/2015/11/the-idiosyncratic-me.html
Thank you Sreeja ~ Feel free to link this up during our Thursday, OpenLinkNight ~
I hoped my poem on Liberty, light and love with the flowers had a sense of peace as well as the flowers being the French colours. The natural world can bring us a sense of peace and stillness. Agree it is hard to write about peace but I had wanted to start a poetry for peace project for young people. I tried a three line poem arising out of some silent reflection with a group. One word line, three words, then five.
Guns
Sound so loud.
But Peace keeps us strong.
Thanks for sharing this ~
I have been a coward during these times. I talk tough but I am very soft inside and afraid of violence. People are out there fighting for principles and their families and I often think about it, and meditate, and pray, but I don’t often find the words. In hundreds of poems I almost never write about it. I think it’s important to stay talking and I am going to keep this in mind this week, what I can write, to tell how much peace means to me.
I wrote one little poem a few weeks ago I will share here. It’s very small.
Dark days
no cloud to obscure the view
don’t look away
baby on the beach
more children
won’t grow up
momma lost
papa lost
your loss
is our loss
It is our loss, everyone’s loss ~ I hear you about being soft inside too ~ Thanks for sharing your lovely words ~