Still I walk
through stray strands
of a spider’s web
hanging in the woods.
The silk is smooth
upon my skin,
easily slipping away
with one swipe of a hand
that remains ever open
to the practice
of keeping all slates clean.
I do not fear
the sting from a bite
because my soul
was prepared for life’s poison
before its accompanying flesh
took a first breath
on this earth.
Inoculated in the womb
with an antidote
of fresh air;
and so now
even if the sky
happens to be polluted,
I am still thankful
for each inhalation
because I have seen the vision
of what happens
when oxygen alone
is no longer enough
to keep lungs
from collapsing.
There are children dancing today
in the wreckage
of Chernobyl’s carnage.
The will to survive
is fundamentally strong
in our species.
There are butterflies perched
on the tip
of a nuclear warhead.
When wings flutter,
the course of history
is altered forever.
The theory of chaos
sings sweetly
at the speed of light
with sounds that breach
the barriers of conflicted space.
The only problem
left to solve at this point
is how to find
the pathway toward peace;
the equation
of its truth
reaches epiphanies
one step,
one spirit,
one smile
at a time.
“Proliferation of Peace” via YouTube