What About This War?

What about this war and that war?

Hearing about war, seeing war

Participating in war

Horror and tragedy galore

Human suffering

Destruction of Mother Earth

Babies dying 

Divisions rife between

Each other

Between countries

Between neighbors

Between family 

Between parts of ourselves

We may not burn down 

A village but we do

Sometimes in our hearts

Brains and beliefs

Act war-like not just in our

Thoughts and feelings

But in our behaviors

We curse war

We grieve war

We mourn what 

War does to people

We rage about war

While human beings 

(Like us)

Create these wars

If there is evil in this world

It resides within us

Passed down from ancestors

In our genes and bones

Competition and greed

For money, land

Our way or the highway

We want everyone 

To believe as we do

(Or at least act as if they do)

So that we are successful

Our tummies are full

Our children and 

Families are content and safe

So what do we do?

Start a war

Join a war

Find community

In a holy war

Where no one is safe

Where children and families

Are tortured and die

In inhumane ways

We would not treat

Our pets like this

Even if they bite us

We would understand that

They had traumatic lives

Or their genes bred

This brutality in them

We don't have to compete

With our pets though

We have power over them

What to do instead of combat?

Root out and search

Within ourselves for

What conflicts and skirmishes

We participate in 

Inside ourselves?

Do we mean to do ourselves

Harm?  Not consciously

But we hurt ourselves

Anyway

We beat up our child-like

Parts and our traumatized

Parts and parts we would 

Rather not have or see

Or hear, we cast them 

To our dungeons

Especially those parts

Full of rage

What happens then?

They sometimes rise up

(We can't always control them)

They slip out in a 

Stressful moment 

When we feel unsafe

Or vulnerable or fragile

We can hurt others as well

Without knowing or owning 

Our own participation in the battle

Better to know ourselves

To challenge our projections

Onto others that they want 

What we have

That they want to harm us

They may or may not

But that doesn’t mean 

We fight them, kill them

Just to make sure they

Don’t steal our stuff

Or hurt us

When maybe they were 

Not planning such actions

At all

They like we just want to live

As best we all can

Human beings are fascinating

What about war?

It starts within us

Then with our most intimate

Friends and families

At work

At home

In our country

With whoever seems

Powerful over us 

Frightens us

We face 

Not knowing or

Understanding that

Violence begets violence

Love and peace

Can beget 

Love and peace

Which do we choose?