There is a treaty There is a convention There is an accord Here are the shoulders of a builder Here is the tongue of a cook Here is the back of a laborer Here is the foot of an athlete Here is the elbow of a plumber Here are the cheeks of a clown Here are the ankles of a salesman There is a politician's promise There is a diplomat's parley There is a commander's pledge Here are the hands of a musician Here is the knee of a teacher Here is the nose of a gardener Here are the legs of a dancer Here are the fingers of a sculptor Here is the brain of a scholar Here is the neck of an acrobat There is the boundary There is the frontier There is the borderline Here are the eyelids of a dreamer Here are the lips of a lover Here are the ears of a friend Here is the lap of an aunt Here are the arms of a mother Here is the chest of a father Here are the eyes of a child There is a broken weapon There is a tomb There is a salute Here is the Achilles heel of a champion Here are the guts of a warrior Here are blood stains mapping the ground Here is a runnel cut by flowing tears Here are the unrequited hopes of everyman Here are the whispered prayers to Heaven Here is God's blessing on His least
creatures There is today's tumultuous chaos There is yesterday's reflective echo There is tomorrow's alluring snare Here is a corpse Here is a medal Here is a widow Here is an orphan Here is a ruin Here is a souvenir Here is a flag There is a truce There is an arsenal
And there is peace
by Argus Deiktik
... who is a combat veteran, a schoolteacher, and a freelance
writer whose work has appeared previously in this magazine.
