Our earth is cracked and bruised,
Scorched by a history of rivalry,
Beaten beneath millions of failed journeys,
Crumbling under a present that lives only for itself.
Our world is exhausted and grieving,
Weary under the weight of so many burdens,
Struggling to hold on to the last gasps
of fresh air,
Mourning the death of so many –
Loved but lost, living but not alive.
Our home is home
To the heartbroken and the weary,
To the fallen and the furious,
Screaming out for change – through every whisper, tear, and song.
Outcries trickle through the parched earth and dampen hardened souls,
Yet a world humming with outcries
Is still not enough to awaken – to revive! –
Our bruised and bloodied earth,
This cracked and broken ground,
This lost and mourning world.
When and where will those outcries
Carve canyons through every layer of scorched earth
And overcome and overwhelm every
hardened heart of rock?
When will we reach a time and place of change?
When we learn that the ends of all oceans can be reached
Through the movement of one ripple.
When we learn one mountain must be built
With a million irreplaceable pebbles.
When we learn all trees must put down roots
To sway with the wind, yet always stand steadfast.
When the value of art is determined
By how many colors dance through the
mind of a viewer.
When the quality of music is measured
By how deeply it resonates within the heart of a listener.
When the worth of a child can be found
In each smile, each habit, each mistake.

When we, as a people, become
Ripples, pebbles, and trees,
When we, each of us, become
An art, a song, a child,
When we are moved
To not move at all,
When we are silenced
In awe of our ability to listen,
Then, at last, we will see change.
Then, at last, we shall know Peace.