Friday, May 29, 2020

To Think On Peace

When I think of peace
I think of water
Of smooth surfaces
Of oceanic depths

Of cleansing
Of quenching 
Of succor
Of need

(Of tears of drowning)

Peace like water
Is contorted stillness
An ocean holds so much
Life and death within 

The waves are the rhythm 
The breathing of its heart
The cadence of the souls
That reside inside 

There are constant changes
Occurring to and through
Any body of water
As with all things

Yet unlike land
When storms pass
The water 
Is as it was

And unlike fire
None can stifle
The power 
Of its flow

And unlike air
It is seen and heard
More than effect
Of its passing

Is that the essence
Of peace?

To truly live
A life of peace
Is it not to live
A life apart

But instead to live
A life connected
Feeling all the things
That happen to and through

Always changing 
With every squall
But remaining true 
To who you are

(To who I am for who you were)

These things in life
Will wash through me
Will wash over me
Changing me within

Without destroying 
Who I am

A frog sitting
On the surface 
Of a placid pond
Water so clear

The frog begins 
To call its call
Sing its song
Creating vibration

Rippling out
Through water
In the shape 
Of the frog

Each ripple 
Reflecting the other
Connecting the frog
To the water

When the song
Falls silent
The frog and pond
Are as they were

Yet they have changed
I have changed
The world has changed
Around and through us 

I want to be the water
And the frog
And the vibration
And the stillness

I want to be the trees
Mirrored in the pond
The clouds overhead
And the space between

Peace
Is all these things
I want to be 

Peace

1 comment:

  1. Just amazing poem, Jeanine Marie....I'm sure you've worked so much out in the stillness of the water, the clouds, the frog, the pond...LOVE IT!

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