Peace

Peace is in the corner, in the mid-step,
in the dust mote. 
Peace is a house that you build
and rebuild
on top of a crumbling cliff. 

We often come to it weary.

You cannot say that humans don't have magical powers
like the power to stop time;
to project ourselves outside our bodies,
to clear our minds and focus on a singular moment 
in the settling sediment.
During an upheaval,
time gets jammed and then is pulled through in awkward
jerking motions,
moving backward and forward until it gets unstuck.

Everyone deserves a life of mundane rituals
and unspectacular thoughts:
getting food from the store,
getting ready for the day's work,
complaining about ailments,
complaining about other people,
kissing your baby's head.

Hurt people hurt people.

I need you to know
that I will hurt you
and you will hurt me
but there is nothing that exempts us
from the fact that
we are responsible for each other and
that you are my best hope.