For the sake of peace…

May prejudice dissolve into fine burgundy wine,

Making us drunk, instead, on respectfulness.

May the coarse pollen of aggression be collected on the legs of bees,

Delivered softly onto the hearts of spring’s potential blooms,

And transformed into vast fields of wildflowers.

May our hate be sucked out of us

By the kind daggered beaks of hummingbirds

And metabolized into thousands of ruby throat feathers.

For the sake of peace…

May our closed-minded viewpoints sprout wings,

Rise from their all-too-comfortable nests

And soar above us dropping bombs of compassion and understanding.

May doubt and mistrust be kneaded into sweet dough,

Risen by the yeast of love,

And baked into hearty loaves that feed the starving

Rather than starving our souls.

For the sake of peace,

May we recognize that our own equity is bound together

with the equity of all the people,

And once and for all

May we stand on our feet, shoulder-to-shoulder, and heart-to-heart

To deny “isms,” fear, entitlement, advantage and greed,

In order to sow the mighty seeds of true freedom.

May we all put down our phones and devices

And spend our days looking into each other’s faces,

Listening to non-digital voices,

And communicating through flesh and bone and empathy.

For the sake of peace,

May our trance of consumerism get up tomorrow,

Put on working clothes,

And go to Congress to lobby for the legal rights of Nature.

May our religious dogmas put on flannel pajamas,

Have a sound night’s sleep,

And wake up tomorrow having forgotten

Why holding on so tight to our own beliefs was so important.

May our “reality” TV politics fold up their podiums,

Put on their blue jeans

And head down to the food shelves,

And soup kitchens, and shelters

To hand out dinner, and blankets, and hope,

And other real things.

And,

May our beliefs gather together tonight and every night

In a prayer circle under the stars

Where they can all see heart-to heart,

And soul-to-soul,

If not always eye-to-eye.

For the sake of peace.

Elissa Cobb

Bristol