The Peace Poem, 2016, the collection of poetry begun under #PoetsForPeace, has been published in Praxis Magazine. It’s available as a free downloadable pdf. Each poem is worth reading and savoring. (You can find mine on pages 199-200, if you’re interested. đ )
#PoetsForPeace will accept your poem until August 31, 2016.
We will combine all contributions and welcome suggestions for what to do with the resulting collaborative PoemâŚâThe Poem Heard âRound the Worldâ something that would make Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, and Martin Luther King Jr. sigh.â #PoetsForPeace
The Cycle
by S.T. Ranscht
Dark Age
ignorance, destruction, violence
the fearful band together
to contain, restrain, constrain
civilizing this Time’s
Golden Age
to question, create, explore
achieving complacence
once again
Shadows creep unnoticed from horizon
into unwary hearts that have no fear
or sense of other
or of love
Their first act shocks the world
to flurry anguish settling
to comfortable couch outrage
binge-watching shoot-em-ups
from the fifties
Was that the news
or just another episode
of mass shooting senseless violence reckless hate?
What can we do?
What can anybody do?
It is insane.
I see no hope.
Yes, this is a very comfortable couch.
Until it isn’t
Springs poke through
Too much anger, frustration, discontent
the hundredth monkey finally arriving
after the third act
or the fifth
or tenth
Standing to make room
swallowing their fear with the blood flowing
past their homes. along their streets, in their veins
until it boils
over
away
to purify us all
and birth
another
chance
for
hope
Thanks again to Ana P. Rose for tagging me into another 3-Day Quote Challenge. Please visit her enchanting site.
Writing a book of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo. Don Marquis
Thank you Ana P. Rose for tagging me in the 3-Day Quote Challenge. Ana’s a student discovering through research and poetry the importance of emotional intelligence, and deciphering what it means to be  genuinely human. Please visit her site. There is much beauty there.
In her honor, my theme is The Rose.
“Truths and roses have thorns about them.” Henry David Thoreau
