so all of us

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