The Ways of Peace

wage a war of peace
a war of peaceful ways
a war of peaceful means

let violence be validation of violent
let murder be mandate of murderers
let blood continually stain
bloody, blood soaked hands
but let conquerors wage war by means of peace

wage a war of peace
a war of peaceful ways
a war of peaceful means

let reputations of courageous be reputations of peace
let legacies of brave be legacies of peace
let ways of wise be peaceful ways
let days of strong be peaceful days

to the end so it is to always seek

let violent be violent
let murderers be murderous
let clamorers clamoring conflict clamor

but let wise, let strong, let brave,
let courageous champion
the ways of peace

by Jerry T. Johnson

(“Reprinted with the permission of Burningword Literary Journal and the author.”)