Poems & Art for Peace 2018 – 3rd installment

Thank you, thank you to all the creative, magical and diverse individuals who shared words and peace-filled images with us to honor World/International Peace Day ~ September 21, 2018.

We imagine a world where every day is PEACE DAY, lived to the best of our imaginations, consciousness, heart, and actions. We are inspired by Julia Miller who prefaced her poem (below) with her personal experience of peace:

“My place of peace has always been in silence, working quietly in the dirt, growing things, caring for animals. I feel most centered when away from other people, listening to the sounds of birds and insects, running water, rain. These poems are part of my silent world where speaking is not required for expression.”

The Long Exam
By Peter Tran

I couldn’t think but straight away
The exam began, come what may.
With white cards framing each question’s sides,
Mom began, slap bottom, slap top, slap side, then slide.

I’d read, then type my a, b, c, or d.
There wasn’t sky or earth to me.
Just answer the question, wait for the tide
Of slap bottom, slap top, slap side, then slide.

This went on, and on, and on,
I couldn’t wait to be all done.
Relentlessly, though I thought I ‘d died,
Slap-bottom, slap-top, slap side, then slide.

My brain was buzzing, my head drooped down,
The cog-wheeled thoughts would throb and pound.
Weary my finger, weary my eyes,
Slap bottom, slap top, slap side, then slide.

Question 100, I thought I was free!
Car-ride, home! I stood up with glee.
Alas! Mom gave me a mournful look
And turned to open the essay book.

An eternity later I emerged
As distantly a voice I heard.
“Time! Are you done?” My proctor said.
I gladly walked out to home and to bed.

It was a day later my brain awoke.
To my aide, dear Belinda, I finally spoke.
“How did you get through it? What was the key?”
“’Slap side, then slide.’ It was Mom’s melody.”

Entwined
By Julia Miller

I cultivate climbing vines,
watch the reaching tendrils
stretch into space,
weaving, waving,
seeking something solid.

At dawn,
I water them,
marvel at their insistent,
curling strands.
By dusk,
they tangle together,
extending thin arms,
one around another,
and another, and another,
entwining their way
to a destination, they seem to know,
certain of their journey.

I separate them carefully,
wrap each vine around its own baluster,
wondering at the ease
with which they navigate
their green, silent world,
wondering what drives them to climb,
constantly seeking
with their tiny reaching hands.
They call to me,
quietly, with intention,
a language of twining vines.

Peace
By Samantha Craft

I treat people, no matter their age, creed, beliefs, values, economic status, celebrity status, political stance, the same, regardless. I accept people at face value.

I am not easily offended.
I respect others and they respect back.
I try my best not to take things personally, and if I do, I step back and analyze what is in myself that makes me fear.

I have no need to prove.
I accept others have bad days.
I recognize the energy I put out there is reciprocated.
I attract kind people and open-minded people.

I believe most people have good intentions at heart.
When something doesn’t sit right, I say “thanks, but no thanks.”
I respect and accept those who are expressing anger.
There comes a time to let anger go in order not to breed further separation.

I appreciate others looking out for others.
I try my best not to participate in gossip.
By nature, I don’t choose sides.
I recognize I can do my works by staying true to my nature.

What I bring up from the roots directly reflects my intentions.
My intentions are not for self and self-alone.
My roots drink from a space of emptiness—a nurturing fortitude of love and service.
My roots drink from a place of absorbing and sharing knowledge.

I radiate kindness because at the root of me I have others at heart.
People are drawn to what they innately are.
My life is filled with kindred souls who are open-minded, accepting, and honest.
They respect my fruits because they sense my intention.

By following my heart and calling, I have created a life full of richness.
People need to be seen, heard, and believed.
When I am an equal student, I am the very best of who I am.
I am in a state of neutrality and logic or a state of loving grace.

I recognize my opinions change over time and that nothing I do or say is stagnant.
There is a force that lives through me that urges, even pushes, me to love.

How I feel when I see a Rainbow
By Bryan Dunn

When I see a Rainbow
I think of joy
Peace in the world
A stroll back to my childhood
Good times
Kindness and Love
Prosperity
A smile
A symbol that represents the key to the future
A window to the future
I also think of it as
The road to the future and hope.

The Presence of My Soul
By Husna Murad enlightenedmuttakin@gmail.com

The sound of my soul vibrates in the sky and air,
The warmth of my heart becomes foamy in the waves of ocean,
The grief of my own universe rains from dark clouds to the earth.
Hear lending your ears to the ground,
I am sleeping here.

Open your eyes,
I am alive in the billion of stars in the sky,
I am alive in the flowers of your garden.
You may feel my joy in the sweet tune of a bird’s song,
My laugh sounds in a maid’s anklet,
The inspiration of my mind greets you through the sweet scent of wind.
My soul talks in the fearless flow of spring,
Which comes from the prison of snow across the hill.

My brightness places on your ways where dew drops lie,
My exquisite beauty of mind mingles with evergreen field and the blue of sky.
I hug your bodies of mud wearing the blanket of deep fog
While the sweet light of dawn kisses the earth.
Then you may find the passion of my heart.
See the tree stands far behind
Where the flowers bloom by the shed of my blood.

The vast sky above and the grass on ground reveal my loneliness in the evening,
And the lotus in the pond opens its petals for my solitude presence here.
You may feel the madness of my mind
While a cowboy plays flute sitting under a tree.
In a stormy day,
You may hear the tragic song of my absent heart.

By my invisible drive in the mustard field,
I mingle with yellow color.
I go to the home of clouds
Walking on the muddy path.
The sound of my heart rings through the oars of boatmen,
Do you hear my steps in the assembly of you?
The garland
Which you make with the sacrificed flowers,

I exist there.
I whisper the talk of great unity in the flash of a new bride’s eyes,
The song of youth comes from my inner world.
Look at the horizon,
You may see my poem drawn in the line.
Beauty in beauty,
Words among words,
The beauty of my mind startles from there.

My all poems and songs may remove your woe,
All love and equity of man mingle with my thoughts,
My soul may be quiet with the touch of your magnificent love.
Hear the sound,
That the bell rings in the core of my heart.
My heart talks with all of you in the day, at night.
The sound of my soul utters in your minds
Taking away all curtains of mystery.

Search in your own hearts,
My soul lies there.
I exist in the prayer of each soul,
I exist in the silence and crowd of man.

Peace Reflections
By Anthony Brown with supported typing by Mary Ann Harrington

Peace is divine surrender emanating from inner balance.
A blessed feeling, and outer compliance to nature’s laws of creationism.
Heartfelt frequency, unending grace.
Beautiful symmetry amongst all living things.
Kind remembrance of ancient law.
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. ”

Your stitches bring us joy
In a time of Colored Peace
We like your mind and how it works
When out loud words tend to cease.

We like your mind and how it works
When we know your thoughts aflutter
Like soft dove wings that fly so high
And you make a million stitches in time

We like your mind and how it works
And how your sweet hands sew
So much to see about you Guil
Much more we’d like to know.

You who speaks little
Struggling to accomplish the simplest tasks
Creates sewn love
With bits of fabric and thread
As if for the world
For it knew you would bind in your stitches
In a quilt for Peace

For more information about World Peace Day and A list of activities you can participate in. – or create – right here and now, contact https://internationaldayofpeace.org/get-involved/

For daily inspiration and conscious connection to internal and external ideas in peace, visit Art of Autism’s friend and peace activist Husna Murad’s Facebook Page “Light of Soul”

Look for installment #4 of Art of Autism’s Poetry and Art for Peace Project next week.

“Everyday we do things, we are things that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our life…, our way of looking at things, we will know how to make peace right in the moment, we are alive.” Thich Nhat Hanh