Peace, Are You There?

POETRY FORMAT, 8 Aug 2022

Jocelyn Wright - TRANSCEND Media Service

Peace,
Are you there?
Peace, speak to me
Whisper in my ear
Are you there?

Peace,
Tell me what I need to know
Tell me how to lead the way
Peace,
Only you can save
Us from more tragedy

Amidst the rubble
Amidst the ruins
If you are there, please rise up

As bodies pile up
I find myself sinking
If you are there, please rise up

Don’t come alone
We need support
We need multitudes who believe in you
Who will stand by you
And act through you

Not more who mount and deploy troops
Manufacture, deal, and use arms
And leave chaos in their wake

Not more who degrade environments
And destroy livelihoods

Not more who ruin cultures
Displace communities,
Divide families and take loved ones
And leave hurt and hate to cinder

Not more who pulverize institutions
Sabotage schools
And leave dreams to smolder in the ashes

We need multitudes who believe in social justice
Act in love
Insist on nonviolence
Commit to nonkilling
Invest in peacebuilding

Peace,
Are you there?
We need you urgently
Do you hear?

___________________________________________

Jocelyn Wright is Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Mokpo National University, South Korea, where she has served for over 13 years. Her main areas of academic interest are peace linguistics and peace language education. Email: jocelynmnu@yahoo.com


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This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 8 Aug 2022.

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