near the jungle

I wrote about the wars
all
the wars
as there are three great ones now
and battles between
nations
besides and civil violent strife
as well
that I guess might be anywhere

I don’t record so much as encourage perspective
mine
yes
though more so yours for I’d like to raise the kind of
conversation that
could matter

that could lead to change

and
yes
I slant the change
desired
as everything is learning
all is bias
objectivity a tool
even
an aim
but not by impulse who we are
or Earth is
or
Earth’s God is

you see
the bias can be wonderful
we learn each other interests
and
agendas
no more hiding

we may think globally in terms of distinerest
which is not
un-interest
or
indifference
rather
a willingness to surrender one’s own interests first
in order to exchange
to have a dialogue
enact a plan that serves however one is angled
then
another

I wrote on war and will do so
again
and especially while wars are with us
which
speaking ecclesiastically
could be a while

a song of peace
after the borning cry
two
lines of contribution from hymns of Scandinavia
maybe reflects the attitude
after one invented destruction for the one
with others
lean in toward
offering
the prize for peace

think of all those who lived and
died
and lived
fighting
returning if returning
one way of the other

there are the poets
who
remember
and we read their work

there are the women and the men who served
beside
creating services
to keep bodies knit a while
at
least for triage
then ideally to get them home

civilian
scientists
inventors
medical people
and
those moved by cause and insight
say
that of Clara Barton or
Charles Drew

or you
or me
and us
contributing
describing
raising thought and feeling about war
frankly to get over it
and
finally to grow into something better
sets of skills and
fondness for the world
for
the alternatives
say
most of all
for peace

c l couch


photo by Zdeněk Macháček on Unsplash

I took the title from something else I was drafting; they are words with many more fine words and engaging notes that make the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” performed by The Tokens and written by Luigi Creatore, Hugo Peretti, George David Weiss, and Linda Solomon, according to Musixmatch

and I suppose the title’s not unique but a few words that anyone might assemble to make a point or set a scene; but I was looking at the song anyway and then, you know, it got in my head the way songs sometimes go winding through, know what I mean?

I worked on other things, shorter things, placid things; but this kept getting to me