Wings on the Road

I didn’t march through the fields of the First World War.

Nor did I shoulder the weight of the Second World War.

And my heart’s beat is far from eternal.

I learned to laugh by watching my friends,

Imitating joy, practicing it like a melody.

I live to voice my own dreams,

And to sing songs spun from my breath.

Yet I forget, too easily, how swiftly life slips by,

Like silent bells suspended in forgotten towers.

In the end, within the wreckage, there’s still music,

A splendor that gleams even above our tears.

But what of others?

They no longer sit at familiar tables,

Teacups in hand with their grandmothers or mothers.

Children just twelve, fifteen

Sleepwalk through war-torn streets,

Most without boots, their feet soaked and cold.

Little girl, just close your eyes, find peace in your slumber.

Stand by your brother, hold him steady.

Forgive me, I don’t know how to sing you a lullaby,

For I too am restless, my heart heavy with fear.

But I will frame your tiny shoe left behind the barbed wire,

Place it in a museum where the world will remember you.

And you, child, resist, for your spirit runs deep.

One day, those who cherish dignity will run for you, child.

Despite those whose hands are stained with blood,

The true keepers of peace have known since the dawn of time.

We are all woven into the same poem,

Yet even when we say we’re fine, we avert our eyes.

Dozens, like you, like me, have chosen to live with nothing but a bag on their backs.

Did that child lose her limbs at the weaving loom?

Did she perish in the wars ignited by borders sketched by power?

That child learned to toil before learning to play,

Died of hunger, cradled in arms that never knew plenty.

But still, don’t lose hope, child there are souls running for you.

Life is not a race to the finish but a marathon stretching beyond sight.

Bring your dreams, child; don’t forget your laughter.

Whatever we have, whatever we can give,

Bring your dreams for us to shelter, to defend.

You, the water of life, the fountain of hope,

Bring your sunlit smiles, your springtime joy.