by 
“If you want to end the war then instead of sending guns, send books. Instead of sending tanks, send pens. Instead of sending soldiers, send teachers.” ~ Malala Yousafzai (17 year-old Noble Peace Laureate)
tawny moon, an evening grace,
a calm drapes itself on the dwindling day
the mystic mountains, pristine, rise high above
an earthy base, the wizard Merlin’s realm
with memories of a green and primal past …
…….of rootedness
…………..essential things
and Peace!
a lively Peace …
visits us on the briny spray, delights
at the meeting of land and sea
at rhythms of ocean against the shore
as waves drift in and out, fling and toss
stop, start, begin again and then again
splashing, salt of a mother’s tears
moonlight wanes,
a liminal hour
and Peace!
capricious Peace …
see the moon incised, a holograph
from wind-whipped edges of the Earth,
read reports of valour and cowardice
…….the blight of insanity
…………..the naked lives
jarring, the morning dispatch
tragedies, under the heel of depravity
. . .guns, bombs, drones
………..psychopaths, forever with us
people fleeing the lacerations of their plight
Oh! the crushing horror of their fright
“In a world gushing blood day and night, you never stop mopping up pain.” Aberjhani, The River of Winged Dreams
© 2017, poem, Jamie Dedes, All rights reserved
WEDNESDAY WRITING PROMPT
Peace! Capricious. Unevenly distributed. We can be the peace but what do we do about the psychopaths? How do we mop up the blood? How do we hang on to our hope? Tells us in a poem or poems.
Share your poem/s on theme or a link to it/them in the comments section below.
All poems on theme will be published next Tuesday. Please do NOT email your poem to me or leave it on Facebook. If you do it’s likely I’ll miss it or not see it in time.
Poems in response to this prompt will be considered for inclusion in the September issue of The BeZine, which is themed social justice.
IF this is your first time joining us for The Poet by Day, Wednesday Writing Prompt, please send a brief bio and photo to me at thepoetbyday@gmail.com in order to introduce yourself to the community … and to me :-). These will be partnered with your poem/s on first publication.
Deadline: Monday, July 23 at 8 p.m. Pacific.
Anyone may take part Wednesday Writing Prompt, no matter the status of your career: novice, emerging or pro. It’s about exercising the poetic muscle, sharing your work, and getting to know other poets who might be new to you. This is a discerning nonjudgemental place to connect.
ABOUT
Poet and writer, I was once columnist and associate editor of a regional employment publication. Currently I run this site, The Poet by Day, an information hub for poets and writers. I am the managing editor of The BeZine published by The Bardo Group Beguines (originally The Bardo Group), a virtual arts collective I founded. I am a weekly contributor to Beguine Again, a site showcasing spiritual writers.
My work is featured in a variety of publications and on sites, including: Levure littéraure, Ramingo’s Porch, Vita Brevis Literature,Compass Rose, Connotation Press, The Bar None Group, Salamander Cove, Second Light, I Am Not a Silent Poet, Meta / Phor(e) /Play, and California Woman.
Jamie Dedes' THE POET BY DAY Webzine 
Hi Jamie,
Here’s my third:
our unbattle (Apologies to re cummings)
in unwars, highly untrained unsoldiers
unskilled in unkilling, unhelp
unrefugees unhomeless untrek
thousands of unkilometres
to an unwelcome in unpeaceful uncountries,
with untightened unborder uncontrols.
unghosts unhaunt their and our undreams
with unscreams where every unnoise
is the undead unwounded, unfathered,
unmothered children unstare with uneyes.
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Hi Jamie,
Here’s my third:
To Avoid Absolutes.
Advice given to me
as a novice know it all writer
when I used words “hope,
love, hate, beauty, ugly.”
Keep it concrete description.
Answer five questions: Why,
how, when, where, what.
What did they know? I
would write what I wanted.
Why? Because I could.
How? Simple, read this.
When? Just this minute.
Where? In my hand.
What? Look there. On
the page. What’s the frown for?
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Hi Jamie,
Here’s my second:
Hope In Small Spaces
since September the public have been invited to name storms that blow hard enough. Today’s storm is called Barney. Last week it was Abigail.
while black patches of damp splatter on the white bathroom, plaster crackles off, dark marks around the double glazing and aroma of decay, the morning shower is good
you travel to hospital to have the active cancer removed from your womb, while the grandkids, your mam and I distract ourselves with a meal in The Horseshoe
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Hi Jamie,
Here’s my first response:
Hopelessness Is Life
Only the hopeless live.
Only hopelessness makes you smile.
When all hopelessness is gone
then you will grieve at the loss.
There are three streets we can go down,
Faithlessness, Hopelessness and Selfishness
Without one of these the others cannot exist.
There must always be hopelessness
in the best of times. It reminds us of an edge
to life. Surrender to hopelessness
and all will be well. It is the force that drives
all that is worthwhile and good.
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Hello Jamie, Below is my response. Thanks as always! Debasis
butcher them carefully
i hate how these metal benches are now sighing for the the stall of dawn / how impossible to have again between his eyes & mine evening stars becalmed by a darkness in which we can cry only in dream
the toll-free number destined for detained parents weave rehearsal for life like the dance of corn fields too far to see by / that is that / what better road to the door of dawn could kid draw on the ribs of my cage with his broken piece of chalk
fuck dawn
the warm vapor of morning ablaze in ICE detention center becomes elegies for his dragged off cries / being told that the best chance i have of seeing my son is to plead guilty i am now peace with memory games
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Peace is
The heart of mankind beating the drum of unity
Seeking the pulse of a people
Whose voices are lifted in harmony
Singing the song of difference…
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This is my poem: https://momentsbloc.wordpress.com/2017/11/15/mad-glad-sad/
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eloquent.
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and this
Let There be Peace
we look for peace as an outcome
of war with other nations
we look for peace as product
of selfish accumulation
we look for peace in pridefulness
mistaking bullying for might
we look for peace in hiddenness
keeping deception out of sight
we look for peace in armies
enlisting those who may be lost
we look for peace in destruction
never counting all the costs
we look for peace within the walls
that keep the others out
we look for peace in laborious laws
without knowing what they’re about
we look for peace in blame and shame
to quiet all the voices
we look for peace in entitlement
thinking we just need more choices
we look for peace in fulfillment
pretending it’s only about just me
we look for peace in breaking rules
re-labeling it as free
we look for peace in marches
in protests, walk outs and such
we look for peace in demands of others
without shifting ourselves too much
we look for peace in a million ways
repeated as if each one is new
but until we know it within ourselves
there’s little we can do.
Let it begin with me.
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Very nice and eloqüent.
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Jamie –
Beautiful poem – again! If wishing could make it so – Peace.
Planting Peace
the peace rose doesn’t grow
in desert and hostile ground
the peace rose doesn’t grow
when pulled up from its planting
the peace rose doesn’t grow
when left unattended
the peace rose doesn’t grow
when damaged and rejected
the peace rose doesn’t grow
in famine and in drought
the peace rose doesn’t grow
when sheared from all sides
the peace rose doesn’t grow
in poverty and war
the peace rose doesn’t grow
when left unplanted as a seed
the peace rose can only grow
when nurtured from beginning.
deb y felio
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Love this poem, Jamie. A beautiful prayer for peace to come and stay.
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Thanks Jamie
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