Peace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
We may or may not face a difficult winter with Covid-19
continuing to spread among our neighbours in the European Union, not to mention
the risk of illegal immigrants passing through and crossing the channel from
other parts of the world.
Myself and most of my friends here in England think it
was madness to relax basic safety precautions such as wearing face masks in
busy areas, shops and on public transport, especially when N.I., Scotland and
Wales have had the good sense not to do so. I, for one, will continue to
do so as I do not share our Prime Minister’s optimistic approach.
Yes, the vaccination program is a huge success and the
booster jab will provide greater protection; science appears to confirm that effects
of the first two vaccinations are likely to significantly diminish without it.
Meanwhile, I try to keep an image of the first Peace
rose of spring in my head and let it inspire me to find and nurture peace of
mind, whatever the coming winter may hold for any of us during these trying
times.
It’s a hybrid rose called Peace
come to carry spring into summer,
letting its petals fall in autumn,
like memories to shield human hearts
from the worst of winter
Coloured yellow, the Peace rose
is for reminds us of good times past;
where love, like a rose, endures,
so Earth Mother nurtures, promising
kinder times just ahead
At any time of year, whenever
we yearn to inhale love’s perfume,
the Peace rose feeds us images
to delight the eye, lifting other senses,
lightening other burdens
Sometimes, loved ones are called
to serve in wars, maybe never return;
if they do, never quite the same
person we knew before, human nature
left to endure to survive
If the awful reality and casualties
of wars across centuries their ghosts
try to warn us, and only fools ignore;
the Politics of Power is such that it cares
little for Peace roses
At such times, we must be strong,
take well-worn paths the heart knows
and loves, for where here’s love
there is always hope for a kinder spring,
and a new Peace rose
Copyright R. N. Taber c2010; rev.2021
[Note: An earlier version of this poem – written in
2009 - appears in my collection On the Battlefields of Love by R. N.
Taber, Assembly Books, 2010.]
Labels: global consciousness, hope, human nature, human spirit, inspiration, life forces, love, nature, nurture, optimism, pandemic, personal space, poetry, positive thinking, spring, stress
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