Peace By Max Burchett Poem by Max Burchett

Wars and rumors of war
it is said will be forevermore.
If that is the fate of mankind,
what are we to do?
How can we find
a time of peace, harmony too?

First could be
to find a way somehow
to stop wars raging now.
Not so easily done of course;
only when victory is forsaken,
no hope for winning by force.

But then war still goes on
and on and on.
No end, more impasse
No peace possible
No end in sight
No peace, for all, lives lost.

Wars and rumors of war
echoing through time's corridor.
If this is humanity's eternal plight,
what path can we pursue
to discover a respite,
a time of peace, harmonious and true?

First, we must seek
a means to quell the strife,
to halt the battles rife.
Yet, it is not an easy feat
for victory's allure is great.
Anything else seen as defeat.

One war ends, but sets the stage for another.
Legacies that doom lasting peace.
One war making enemies for as long a memories last,
legacies of hate for lives lost.
If cause of one war endures,
strife and conflict the next war assures.

Ambitions of rulers and kings
Seeking glory and lands
Conflicts on beliefs never stopping
Never an Age of Aquarius all are seeking
Kingdoms of men and kingdoms of gods
Assure men and armies are at odds.

No resolution, no truce
Elusive peace, a distant muse
The cycle continues unabated
Lives shattered, dreams faded
But hope must endure through darkness
in hearts of the weary, yearnings for peace live.

Can peace and tyranny coexist?
There comes a time to resist,
not peace at any cost.
For the oppressed, peace is already lost.
Good must act early in the right
to stop evil growing to greater might.

Best war is stopped before it starts,
but for wars already raging,
thinking must be of finding an ending
that is not the gateway to the road
of ongoing chapters to new battles,
adding hope to the book of life, not death.