An Island Called Respect

POETRY FORMAT, 30 Apr 2018

Christophe Barbey – TRANSCEND Media Service

I live an island called “respect”.
Living there allows me to see
Humanity in you;
Living there allows me to see,
Through you, humanity in me…
Living there for us to see,
Together in humanity,
Thank you!

Sometimes,
I swim to distant shores,
As far as I know the seas,
I swim an ocean of care,
As I delight and bathe
In the love born
From such a happy fare.

To my nakedness,
I add politeness.
If we are made of words,
– Though not only –
If I stop swimming
The oceans of feeling,
Indeed, I do drown.
If we are made,
Some of words,
Then it is grace,
The politeness
Of our shared worlds.

As I reach a distant shore,
Through your eyes I can see:
Be it beach or cliff ?
I do welcome your welcome,
Though, I can climb both!

Were we stay and what we do,
Yet hidden song of living love,
Universal, we may do…

As I fly away
Returning home,
It is your smile,
Ever present as may be,
That carries by me,
The happy memory,
Of present shores.

If so may be,
That neither eye, word nor touch
May reach our peace,
From you to me, me to you,
May we still swim or go,
Together I prefer,
To an island called “respect”.

_____________________________________

© Éditions Pour de Vrai, 1659 Flendruz, Switzerland, 17 Sep 2013. Enhanced and translated to French, 27 Apr 2018

Christophe Barbey, Irenist (peace activator, theory and practices of peace and peace science), poet (smile cultivator) and lawyer (prevention and solutions) is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment. He lives in the Swiss Alps and works sometimes in Geneva. Main representative at the United Nations in Geneva for the Center for Global Nonkilling and for Conscience and Peace Tax International. Expertise on the place of peace in constitutions and the human right to peace, on countries without armies. More of his poetry is available here.

 

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 30 Apr 2018.

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