Hope

Hoping for peace on Earth;
Wishing upon shooting stars;
Taking chances to make things right;
Helping others, and listening well;
Making problems disappear;
Giving heart in all we do;
To give love, and never take;
Will give us hope; and one day peace.

by Abegail Samson

John F. Kennedy

They stood five men at the catafalque
Motionless and mute and still
Erect, alert, aware of the grief
Of the people on the hill;
But most of all the gallant heart
That's stilled, is lying there
Under the draped flag of old glory
In the coffin that is in their care.

The measured tread of the changing guard
The click of the leader's heel
And five others take the place
Of the watchers over the steel,
For what was once the spirit brave
An idealist heart so proud,
Lies now in the rotunda of the hall
javascript:; Passed by a grieving crowd.

They gave their farewells to a brave spirit
A leader of freedoms call
Cut down in his prime, victim
He has paid his all.

by Bernice Brigham

Thousands of Feet Below You

Thousands of feet
Below you
There is a small
Boy
Running from
Your bombs.

If he were
To show up
At your mother's
House
On a green
Sea island
Off the coast
Of Georgia

He'd be invited in
For dinner.

Now, driven,
You have shattered
His bones.

He lies steaming
In the desert
In fifty or sixy
Or maybe one hundred
Oily, slimy
Bits.

If you survive
& return
To your island
Home
& your mother's
Gracious
Table
Where the cup
of lovingkindness
Overflows
The brim
(&
From which
No one
In memory
Was ever
Turned)

Gather yourself.

Set a place
for him.


by Alice Walker

Loss

Sometimes we have something

Without truly knowing

What we have



Sometimes we hold something

Without knowing completely

What we hold



Sometimes we are given something

Without fully appreciating

What we are given



But that knowledge usually comes

When we realize

What we have lost



-Javan