Dr. Sigmund Freud, from his diary
we want to be rain and thunder
want our voices to summon
sustenance from our battered earth
we want to be heard in the sheaves of wheat
the rustle of scarves
want to fling a stone of hope in the still pond,
watch ripples pulse across the great divide
want to step from behind war’s shadow
want to be sun, gather and stand
in gardens we’ve planted, firmly rooted,
up to our ears in green, rich in food
that bulges from each mound
and heavy branch
as we hack back vines that choke us all
open windows in walls, open doors
through which we freely come and go
and return without dodging snipers
without running away from our lives
may we never again give birth to martyrs
flown home without limbs or vision
everywhere women want to be whole together
make stew, simmer all that is true
in the broth of human goodness, invite
every man, woman and child to toss in
a favored spice, a wish, a way to rebuild
our fractured world and with tomorrow
in our wombs, we will carry bowls of peace
from hearth to each table, however remote
this is what we want
Perie Longo © Santa Barbara Poet Laureate Emerita Written for the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Annual Awards Peace Banquet
“Women for Peace,” Nov. 7, 2009
