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Joseph E Bird

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peace

one more moment

rain sunset 1 for web

In this time
just after dawn
I can smell the dew
lifted from the grass
by the early morning sun
as the birds call
to one another
and the cool air
moves across my face.

My coffee is never better
and the peace never so serene
and the problems so far away
in this time just after dawn.

Time is limited
and there are
words to write and
songs to sing and
work to do and
people to see so
I have to move
from here
and get about
the business
of getting about.

Even the robins will
fall silent
and the wind
will be still
and the grass
will dry
in the heat
of the day.

And the pavement
will burn
as the trucks
roll past
and the heels
will click
in the heat
of the day.

So one more
moment
in this time
just after dawn.

copyright 2017, joseph e bird

6

on the brink

talk that is shocking with mocking and hawking
they say what they will, and neither one’s balking
cross over this line, i ain’t gonna blink
so much to lose, with war on the brink

minds that know all and know all to be
tell us what’s best, ‘cause we just can not see
your way is right, and there’s no other way
my voice must be silenced, i can’t even pray

.

so sing me a song
of the girl with the smile
whose laugh will stay with me
and linger a while

sing me a song
of our walk on the shore
i’ll think of her touch
and worry no more

.

fear that is chilling with a spirit unwilling
to stand for what’s right, and stop all the killing
the innocent too, will fall to their fate
because even the good, they must desecrate

hate that is righteous and noble and pure
just ‘cause you say it, does not reassure
love is a concept you can’t comprehend
and meek is a virtue that you won’t condescend

.

so sing me a song
of the girl with the smile
whose laugh will stay with me
and linger a while

sing me a song
of our walk on the shore
i’ll think of her touch
and worry no more

copyright 2017, joseph e bird

0

75 in Tehran.

09:30 PM, Eastern Daylight Time, St. Albans, West Virginia, USA.

Here, it’s 65º. Perfect sleeping weather.
In Cusco it’s 48º.
It’s 66º in Kiev.
At 9:30 in the morning it’s already 81º in Qingdao.
46 in Soweto.
75 in Tehran.
In Jerusalem, it’s 73.

Some are sitting at their computer.
Some are sleeping.
Some can’t sleep, worried about tomorrow.
This one is lonely.
Another is scraping together loose change for a drink.
A mother is worried about her son.
A father goes to work at his second job.
A child is very sick.
A boy meets a girl, and the world stops.

If it rains tomorrow, I can’t work.
If it doesn’t rain soon, the beans will die.
If it rains tomorrow, there will surely be floods.
If it doesn’t rain, the fires will rage.
If it rains tomorrow, we’ll dance in the puddles.
If it doesn’t rain, I’ll skip school.
If it rains tomorrow, I won’t have to walk to the well.
If it doesn’t rain, I’ll wear my new shoes.

Tomorrow we will rise.
We will go to work.
We will drink coffee.
No one will ask us what to do about
bombs,
or missiles,
or cyber warfare,
or identity theft,
or human trafficking,
or hunger,
or climate change.
Our world is small.
We just need to know if it’s going to rain.

copyright 2017, joseph e bird

0

wars, lies, ignorance, light

wars
and rumors of wars
and killings
and bombings
and shootings
and peace
that is nothing
but
a mirage

.

lies
and tales of deceit
and slander
and malice
and betrayal
and words
that are nothing
but
emptiness

.

ignorance
and shallow thought
and foolishness
and naivete
and banality
and ideas
that are void
of
wisdom

.

light
and shining brightness
and understanding
and truth
and hope
and peace
which passeth
all
understanding

copyright 2017, joseph e bird

0

today there is peace

christmas-on-the-deck

today there is peace

well, not really
but today, more than any other day,
we want peace

we want the guns to go silent
the bombs to be dismantled
the swords to be sheathed
the fists to be loosened
the anger to be soothed
the hate to find understanding
the trespass to be forgiven
the pained to find comfort
the sick to be healed
the hungry to be fed
the thirsty to have drink
the forgotten to be remembered
the cast out to be gathered in
the lost to be found
the unloved to feel love
the tumult to find peace

today, more than any other day
we want peace

because
years ago a child was born
though not all believe
that he was the son of God
that he was born for redemption
that he was the Christ

though not all believe

today,
more than any other day
we pray for peace

copyright 2016, joseph e bird

3

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