Peace

A selection of poems

Love in Refuge

a dreamer
he fled his native land
when it was still called 
Burma
vulnerable and stateless

lone migrant
who found love
in refuge
forging family
in new settlements

advocate of education 
fighting for survival
rebirthing identity
through self-less 
sacrifice

I was called so many things 
before they used my given name.

Rina Malagayo Alluri 
Austria

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Back To Ash

'I go among trees and sit still.' 
-Wendell Berry

I go to find peace at the foot of the ash.
My back softens into the bark;
The juice of our spines unconstricted,
Slowly moving, doing whatever is necessary.

As trees are factories, so am I :
Our fluid sugars transport nutrients;
We take from this earth what is given;
We press, extract, transmute.

I get from this particular tree, brotherhood.
Among the beetles and the bark moths
And fungus, moss and ivy
And nestling birds. I am not

More important than they.
But I wonder if this fraxinus excelsior
Has identified my genus
And my quarrelling species yet?

Clive Donovan
UK

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Scarcity 

Winter’s laying claim to earth and
leaving a trail of snow-dust upon
the hills, and it seems all things
are being hitched to the hereafter
by an unfaltering cold that’s hardening
sodden furrows into mounds of
ruffled velour glistening in transient
light, while the sad soliloquy of
a grosbeak, perched upon the felled
branches of an evergreen, probes
the depth of this day’s emptiness
and I find myself suddenly abandoned,
too, and wondering if I have ever
possessed enough faith in myself
or in this world, then continuing
down a narrow path towards
the edge of the tree-line and the
swale of valley that dips beyond,
making note of the vivid brush-
strokes of my breath, and how each
grows shorter than the one before.

John Muro
USA

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Evening at The Beach

When the sun dips 
the sea seems to settle
stilling to a pool's mirror. 
It may be gravity 
or even the moon 
but the quieting tide
an absence of bodies
the diminishing whirl 
of human chatter 
that must help too.
Just as it does
my mind.

Poppy Burton-Morgan
UK

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Connection

What if we were all connected
in our reflections across the seas
through our secret desires
that we whisper to the trees

through our differences, our imperfections 
and our ingrained beliefs
our mistakes and our misjudgements
our hopes, forgotten dreams

what if we listened to each other
with a compassion for our fears
finding a common language
through our laughter and our tears

what if all that truly mattered
was to rid our lives of hate
to find our love, to share our love
and see the beauty we could create

Charly White
Wales

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Amalgamation

Beneath the far horizon there’s a ground;
beyond propaganda and prejudice, 
between rain and sunshine, 
where we assemble under the sky of art. 
The rainbow portrays seven different shades
the sky knows—
all shades must come together
to make the world a splendid landscape. 

Ali Ashhar
India

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We Write From The Grave   

May peace sleep in my mother's bed.
May the sparrow return to the tree.

And this much—
While you're still listening

God,
Please let 
The children laugh—

Again

Murry Meribeni
India

---

Vanilla

For as long as I can remember - 
my father has ordered the same 
rich flavor when visiting parlors. 
Maybe he understands that true 
pleasure needs little elaboration. 
Maybe he is a bit more satisfied 
than other customers who select 
bright, exotic, tropical wonders. 
These wild, scooped-up varieties 
come and go like sudden whims, 
but his choice is alwayrs at hand. 
Sitting outside on a green bench, 
simple is best, is easy to achieve: 
the relaxed days of his life spent 
enjoying sweet servings of light.

David Thorndale
Japan

---

Symbols of Peace

May the symbols of peace
Throughout history
Rise up and decorate the land

A vast and beautiful rainbow
Appear in the winter sky
A flight of white doves to delight
And awaken tired eyes
Olive branches and paper cranes
To adorn broken buildings
Hands held high with V signs
White poppies and broken rifles
To carpet the ground

May the symbols of peace
Through history
Rise up and decorate the land

Orla Beaton
Ireland

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Do you have a poem on the theme of “peace”?

Email theweesparrowpoetrypress@gmail.com with “peace” in the subject line. Write your poem (one per poet) in the body of the email (20 lines max) along with your full name as you would like to see it below your poem and your current country of residence. I will share a selection periodically. If you have submitted before, please feel free to submit another poem.

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Submissions are still open for our forthcoming digital zine Reason Gone Mad, edited and curated by our Editor Across the Pond, John Tessitore. You can find the full submission details here.

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By the way, we have a new Instagram handle for the press (as our original account was hacked and we´re locked out of it). Follow us @the_weesparrow_poetrypress

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Recording resumes soon for The Wee Sparrow Poetry Podcast. Meanwhile, have a wee listen to the episodes so far here (if you haven´t already). You can find us on Instagram @theweesparrowpoetrypodcast

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Cheerio for now!

As always, stay well, stay safe, and stay creative.

Peace.

Claire

Peace Sparrows watercolour by Colin Thom.