Bathing

Bathing in the silence

Of

Morning

Washing in

The cool air of spring

The birds

Will awake soon

But for now

All is quite!

Sometimes

I wonder

How the birds

Are still singing

At all?

For

The world

Is covered in hatred

Wars drag on

With no end in sight!

It seems

People have become

Numb to

The death and destruction

Of it all!

Sometimes

I wonder if the birds still sing

In these

War torn lands

Or

Do they sit silent

Waiting for it all to end?

Not much has changed

In my lifetime

Two days after my birth

Firehouses were turned on

Crowds fighting for equality

Down the street

From the hospital

I laid in!

Not long after

The Gainesville Eight

Would go on trial

And

Become the anti-war

Talk of the town!

Vietnam and race relations

At that time

Had reached

The boiling point

In the melting pot country  

I was just dropped into!

Yes

Not much has changed

In the last 45 years

In this crumbling world of ours

A place where

Mass shootings

Bombings

And

Killings in general

Happen so frequent

It seems like

Only a few days pass

Or

Maybe even week

Before the next tragedy

Comes!

When will it ever end?

Amazingly

For now

The birds are still singing

Or

At least they will be

As soon as the morning sun

Climbs high

In the eastern sky

 

From my book, When The Cedars Shade Your Grave