Sunday, November 23, 2008

when they bombed four little girls
in a church in alabama
there wasn't peace

when they destroyed 
the world trade center
the world mourned 
and then the world turned
and retaliated
there wasn't peace

when martin luther king was shot
peace fell from the balcony of the hotel
he was standing on
and unraveled
like a ball of yarn
down the street
towards the past

it was meant to be 
a peaceful act
when john lennon
shook mark david chapmans hand
but then there was a gun
and a death and
there wasn't peace

how can there be peace
in the midst of these acts 
when there have been deaths
and terrorists and wars of retaliation
and corruption?
where is the peace

1 comment:

Ms. Wiesner said...

The rhythm is off in this stanza. Read it aloud and change the wording until it flows. "when they destroyed
the world trade center
the world mourned

and then the world turned
and retaliated
there wasn't peace"

I think it would have more impact if the events you mention were in the order which they occured.

Your last stanza reads more like prose than like poetry. Work on making each word count.