POETRY
Ukraine
Will We Ever Learn

Sadness surrounds us Intense and pervasive It is in the very air we breathe Choking us until we are on the edge of despair
This could have been a new Age Of Enlightenment One with great expectations finally fulfilled Peace still beyond our grasp But closer Internet making communication worldwide instantaneous Peoples from around the world able to connect in new and varied ways Social and cultural barriers removed Geographic boundaries realized as artificial demarcations
Instead, we have political and religious leaders Assuming old stances as if frozen in historical time warps Many individuals and corporations consumed by greed Focused on acquiring ever more Blind to the desperate need of others
You and I often are culpable as well Sheltering ourselves behind artificial noise Engaging in ceaseless movement Always doing something or going someplace Anything to avoid silence and reflection Allowing ourselves to be treated like sheep At the beck and call of wolves
Ukraine is the fault of humankind This abomination did not start because of one dictator It did not build towards this over a few months or even years Rather this assault on innocent people was generations in the making And will occur elsewhere If we fail to change To say a collective ENOUGH
We need to follow the examples of people like Gandhi and Martin Luther King Hearts need to be transformed Intellectual appreciation of the horrors of war are not sufficient We must feel the pain of the people of Ukraine and Africa and the Middle East Everywhere that humanity is threatened by war and accompanying famine Recognize that all are kindred spirits to which we are inseparably attached
Not only humans are affected The environment The life of flora and fauna all bear the burden of war
I have a dream that people came from all over the world to the Ukraine From every walk of life All age groups Without weapons And stood in their millions on every highway blocking Russian tanks The world held its collective breath And then sanity was restored Peace broke out
Unfortunately only a dream At least for today I still hope and pray that one day it might come true
I told myself that I wouldn’t write anything about the horror in the Ukraine But then realized that I wouldn’t be able to write anything at all until I did.