war

He’s being cranky again, my young grandson,

corralling me into a game of war

I do not want to play,

the swingset the villain’s lair.

I don’t like war, I tell him.

I don’t like fighting.

I like peace.

He says, “First you fight the monsters,

and then you go to your place of peace.”

I look up,

up to the treetops,

take a deep breath.

I don’t tell him that I have some experience

in fighting monsters who were not quite

as imaginary as his.

Or were they?

I also don’t tell him

that I don’t always win.

The treetops sway,

the breeze whispers peace.

I look back at my grandson.

“Okay,” I say.

“I will fight your monsters.”

And my heart breaks a little.

Because I know that I will.

-kh-

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

“Wage peace,” she writes,

this person I do not know,

reposted by someone else,

a mere acquaintance.

“Wage peace.”

I know what she means,

but my mind jumps to the minimum wage,

which does not provide much peace.

Besides, peace seems the minimum of wages due

when I sink into my pillow at the end

of a day of diligent and otherwise

unpaid work.

But that’s not what this person means

when she writes, “Wage peace.”

She means, of course, to counter

the waging of war, to say that

instead of engaging in war,

we must engage in peace.

But my mind jumps to

that other form of wage:

wager—a bet or a pledge.

Now the meaning splits wide open.

Pledge yourself to peace.

Bet on peace.

Risk it all

on the hope

of peace.

This, I think, is both wage and wager.

So I pass it on to friends,

to mere acquaintances,

to strangers

as we link thoughts,

hopes,

dreams,

bets.

I lean in close.

“Wage peace,” I write.

“Pass it on.”

– kh –

Nurture peace, cultivate kindness, and carry the calm.

Nature of the week – at a safari park:

Shadow of the Week:

If you want me to send these thoughts to your email each Sunday, simply sign up on the right.

Carry the Calm

Karyn Henley

A Game of War I Don’t Want to Play

Risking It All