we till the soil for the peacebuilders...

Hard to wrap heart and head around the situation in Ukraine, as it had been in similar conflict in my living memory of the displacement of innocent people seeking refuge. There's plenty of crowd-sourced editorials and commentary to go around, I have no new insight on the what/why/how to add. 

My thoughts instead turn in hope (and nervousness) towards the peacebuilders. There are and always have been quiet steadfast humble warriors of peace that do the critical work of saving - lives, hope, meaning - that have staved off the degradation of humanity. In spite of the limitless potential and persistence of humankind to destroy and conquer for the sake of destruction and domination. 

Listen here: Ode to the Peacebuilders DEMO

I wrote this a few years ago on reflection of how the good still manages and inevitably floats to the surface of the rubble, led by the silent warriors of peace, and whose work is greatly affected by how the rest of us pave or obstruct their way. 

"We till the soil for the peacebuilders
with seeds for the healing or hurt".

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"Ode to the Peacebuilders"
by Monica Uhm (all rights reserved) 

"Haven’t you seen all the peacebuilders 
Gliding like swans through the wars 
Tattered and scarred by our own-made monsters 
Won’t question who love is for 

Haven’t you seen all the peacebuilders 
Mingled in trenches and towers 
They’re never ones to steal away thunder 
But first to run into the mire 

Let’s bow and pray for the peacebuilders 
Let’s lift up our bodies and words 
We till the soil for the peacebuilders 
With seeds for the healing or hurt 

Remember the names of the peacebuilders 
Carry their embers with care 
Don’t throw them into the bonfire of traitors 
That burn all the fruits love will bear 

We all are one with the peacebuilders 
We all are the ones against 
We all are flesh and soul and creatures 
That live and die on this land 

We destroy what we can’t understand"

- by Monica Uhm, (c) 2015

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"Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me ... " (Jill Jackson / Mark Miller) - circa 1955

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