it’s been 2 million years
or more
since we humans started
wandering this earth
25 hundred years since
Buddha
2 thousand years since
Jesus
14 hundred years since
Muhammad
Gandhi & Luther-King
were teaching us in
living memory.
the Dalai Lama, Pope Francis
& Tich Nhat Hanh are teaching us
now
our generation of amerikans
ignited endless
war
every day we count
the fresh dead
of our loved ones &
compatriots––
there are many more
dead, for we never tire
of killing our imagined
enemies,
as we weep in our imagined
innocence––
war will never be done
with us
until we are done
with war
revenge will never be
satisfied
feeding on guts &
bones
rage must be exhausted by
forgiveness
& fear drown in
love
the denying forces are
jabbering in our
brains
& ranting in our public
spaces––
don’t let them end
the world
we must teach
our children
to crack their shells,
open their ears & share
their hearts with
other children
we must transform
our lives to bring
benefit to all––
to be peace
in the sunlight of
kindness
so all of us can melt
our hearts to
compassion––
so all of us can talk
together
so we can let Earth &
her children
live––
so we can let Earth &
her children
breathe