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