By Richard Grahn (Editor’s Contribution)
Evanston, Illinois, USA
the neverending TV screen
batters our brains with atrocities
conditions of pain and eternal strife
the knife of the tyrant’s bloody reign
we consume news without a fight
night after night in shock and awe
we sleep it off and return to the maw
of the daily grind
where we find ourselves miles
from the front
the battlelines drawn
so long ago
entrenched in our DNA
we cheer the forces of apocalypse
as if that could solve our complicity
from our State of Affairs
attention fixed
on the smoke and mirrors
we miss the fact
that we’re standing on a planet
our habits have battered and bruised
it doesn’t matter who wins the war
reset the board
move the pawns from dawn to dusk
we the pawns—sacrificed
on the altar of lust
lust for power and untold riches
do you see the hunger?
do you know the pain?
do you see the displaced?
feel the heat of the flames?
now comes the storm
the forest ablaze
the earth quakes
comes a tidal wave
dried up lakes
and melting glaciers
polluted streams
and rising seas
night has fallen on the carnage
of tomorrow
we’ve burned and hollowed
our legacy
does the world owe us
a second chance?
or maybe a third, or fourth, or fifth?
I lift my head from the mire
looking for answers
in the searching eyes
of a lost face
to share with them
this hallowed ground
to free us from this weight
this maelstrom
drowning hopes with hate
as the fog of war
surrounds us
hand-in-hand
let’s feel our way to the center of town
wake the neighbors
spread love around
what will break the despot’s will?
will it take a billion prayers?
how many faces to mend our wounds
projected on this earth?
when will this neglect end?
and when will we lay our weapons down
wrap our arms around each other
come together and defend the planet
share this tiny dot in space?
can the world ever become a welcome place
for every living creature?
it’s not a far-fetched notion
let’s stop this incomprehensible commotion
and pull the plug
on the idiot box rife with obnoxious news
choose a future solar bright
by changing the way we approach today
dawn always breaks the chains of night
light’s but a dream set free
in a world of possibility.