…
The tears of a child, the pain of a mother!
A heart full of memories of a dead father!
A silence that is bursting with agonizing screams
So quiet and yet devastated with shattered dreams
Where are you? Oh, that my heart yearns for!
Oh, lost springs, oh my beloved country at peace that I pray for
Your voice is the remedy of so many souls
Of a painful mother, of a crying child and countless more
You are the peaceful soul.
Huda Hedayat, 13 (Afghanistan War)
…
From my veins, the blood flows
Through my racing heart
I am the pen that carries the desire to touch each heart,
And with my faith light it up with joy.
To live in solidarity with others in this world
I am the thirsty soul of a world without divisions
A world willing to learn and where each failure is synonymous with courage
I refuse to give in to any despair.
Salimata Fofana, 16 (War in Mali)
…
I thought it was a dream,
but it happened to be real.
The torture of the war
And overwhelming fear.
I want it all to go away
Diffuse in shining sun
And troubles blown from our day
By friendly clouds, so far
I want people out of cellars
Living to the full
Not afraid of their jailers
Sleeping soundly.
I want to throw away all the pieces
From the puzzle of this cruel war
So children don’t play with them
I want everyone to be happy and smile!
I believe in a happy Ukraine
And the new life beginning today!
I believe we can forget about war
It will be swept away from the shore.
Viktoria Ponkrashkina, 16 (War in Ukraine)
…
The words of the ones who have to live it… so powerful. Thanks so much for sharing these!
Excellent saying. Gandhi was inspirational. I do wish more of the world would follow his example.
❤️ Thank you!
Oh goodness…I just found out that Cat Stevens is virulently antisemitic with a long history of statements supporting terrorists. I did not know. 😱
There is a lot of misinformation out there. I wasn’t welcomed in Israel myself when I flew in 1989, just because I was born in Austria -15 years after WWII. If you are not for Israel, then you are an antisemist. Almost the same with saying something against black people here makes you a racist.
I don’t know the truth. I researched it myself and gave up after a while, so much stood in contrast to other articles.
I still love the song….PEACE for all. In fact, I had already added it to a post and linked to your post. It is just so complicated, so I will leave it in draft for now. I appreciate your follow-up. Thank you.
We are united in our grief. You find the words when words are so inadequate. Thank you, Bridget.
Thank you Debra. I am trying to wrap my head around the world right now and I am failing miserably. Posts like this help me to stay sane.
I remember as a young woman hearing Cat Stevens/Yusuf singing this song. It is just as relevant today as then – as are Gandhi’s words. Both masters of truth!
I hadn’t heard the song in over twenty years myself and found the new arrangement so wonderful and fitting.
Lovely, rich, and full of wisdom and heart…
And Playing for Change is one of the most beautiful examples of bridges, openness, and bonding that defies boundaries and bad ideologies (regardless of the particular tune they’ve chosen — but of course this one is so apropos to this moment!) ❤️🎶🕊️
Theoretically we know it all, yet we fail to put it into action.
sadly, there’s something to that saying “much easier said than done”
but in the saying — and in many people repeating, echoing — there is hope for it to be done too… 🫶
Thank you for sharing this amazing post! So important!
What a lovely post. Thank you.
Love,
Janie
You have gathered a beautiful song, and poems of the young of the world – may they know their peace
Amen!
AAAAAMEN!!!! Beautifully written!! Peace! No More War! No More Hate! No More division! We all bleed the same color. Lord, help us!!
It seems the ‘Lords’ are often the reason for the wars to begin with, perhaps we might not ask him (her or them) to help us any further. 🙂
A comment in your post on Israel was very apt, words to the effect “I wonder whose God will eventually say Enough is Enough.” More people have been killed in the name of religion than for any other reason. How anyone can justify that is beyond any understanding. If making peace made money then there would never be any hostility ever again!
“If making peace made money…” Oh, Peter, that was brilliant and of course you know I couldn’t agree more with your whole statement.
Thank you Bridget.
Did you by any chance watch the youtube clip? I loved seeing people from all over the world singing the same song. I found it very powerful.
Yes I did. Powerful, as you say!
Peace and non violence
So many of us wish for peace.
🖤🤍
Gandhi is correct
I agree