The prompts I obtained were read from the book, “Technicians of the Sacred” and the entry was “Coyote & Junco” from the Zuni Indians  

• Clouds cover the earth 
• Stand still 
• All come in 

I read a couple of other poems from The Poetry Foundation website for the group to obtain prompts from:

• Song of the Blue Ridge Mountains by Susan Nguyen
• The Metaphysics of Your Presence by Robert Bernard Hass

Here’s what I came up with:

Shared Peace

In this time of unrest and war, 

violence and apathy, 

political posturing, and 

religious zealotry 

comes the time of year 

0f unrealized peace and goodwill. 

Will the combatants stand still? 

Will the walls fall, 

allowing all to come in? 

Or will the clouds of conflict 

continue to cover the earth? 

What can I say or do  

in response to  

the tears of sorrow, 

the cries of grief 

mourning ones wail? 

What have I to offer 

of hope,  

of faith, 

of love, 

of peace? 

It’s trite to say 

I have inner peace, 

have some of mine 

o those bombarded 

and bombed by 

Hatred and Ignorance, 

Greed and Power. 

It’s trite, 

but it’s true 

I have walked through  

personal wars and trauma. 

None the like of those  

seeking refuge and safety 

across the world 

but I sought refuge and safety 

when all felt lost, 

when I felt defeated. 

Eventually I found it In others  

willing, able to share  

what they had to offer, 

what they had experienced 

in their own lives and journeys. 

I can’t bring peace and safety  

to those around the world 

but I can share what I have 

with those who enter my world 

and those who I encounter  

in the world around me. 

I can share love, hope, and healing 

as they have been shared with me. 

lem 12/05/2023