Joe Blades (Canadá)
día internacional de la paz 2009 _
________________for Nela Riov
_
She did; to want peace is not
like wanting the wind to stop
—no confusion or comparison
between wind and war—

though the dying of both
makes for a calm day
—all quiet and clear—
people relax and straighten
up from being hunched over
in their going about life

peace is flower buds opening
strangers hug and smile
—as long as earth has air
we’ll have the winds
but we don’t need war

so far i’ve been arriving
after the bullets are spent
seen the holes made
in families and homes
thankfully i’ve not been
a target of bullets and war
don’t believe we need war
to know and live peacefully
she does.
_
What can I say to her,
but bow?
_
I am not witness,
nor messenger.
_
I come
behind,
_
so slowly
_____and so carefully.
_
Oh saints son the rim of martyrdom,
non-saints, women
with shirts of blood,
you call to me!
_
What should I do?
_
"Gritamos en las calles."
"Grito."
_