(x = space)
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Peace Polar
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At any moment now
It is time for the Eid,
One the absence of a moon
Is sighted—you know what I mean,
The new moon
Signing the end of Ramadan
And the start of Eid Al-Fitr
A celebration
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Israeli forces and Hamas
Have been exchanging
Rockets, missiles
Rocks and curses, too
Many have died
And, you know, there is a
Pandemic on
So the celebration must
Be marked by two plagues,
War and the disease
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Holidays and wartime
Go together
In the world
As “I’ll be home for Christmas”
Will tell you
I don’t know the technicalities
Diplomacies
Or lack thereof;
I don’t know if there’s a war
Declared—
It’s happening, anyway
Pray for our western Asian siblings
And send good thoughts
Their way,
And that will not nearly
Be enough
Though they should happen,
Anyway
But something else
Something more
Must transpire
Write about it, tell the stories
Act for peace
Keep planting the poles
Live peaceably
Not with weakness
But with strength
Peace, like love, takes
Muscles of all kinds
And actions
Action-heroes, even
Remembering
The brain, the will
Have muscles, too
The strongest, in fact
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Run the race for peace
And be kind for races, too
These are
The greater challenges
Beside these,
War is easy
(the picking-up is hard)
So, yes, pray for peace
Then act for peace
In the gentlest, strongest way
That you know how
Concretize the steps you take
The talk, the meals, loving
Your neighbors
So that what works
Might be taken again
In hope
Even (especially) when it’s hard
There will be fruition,
Promise
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C L Couch
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Shigar Valley, Skardu, Pakistan
Photo by Ijaz Rafi on Unsplash
[nearly new moon]
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