​Forever Hold Thy Peace (2019)

Peace is in my arms, cradled there like an infant - mine - as I lie upon the grass.

Peace is on my lap, trusting me like a child - mine - as I lie upon the grass.
Peace, then, is behind my head, supporting me like a mother - mine - as I lie upon the grass.
Peace, now, is next to me, holding me like a lover - mine - as I lie upon the grass.
Peace, I know, is a slow-moving lover, and cannot chase me if I flee.
So I have sworn to lie here forever, and hold my peace to me.
Many have waited through the long dusk for peace to arrive at their door.
But I have come to peace so that peace may come to me.
The tangled threads of the world pull me to and fro.
How long can I hold my peace, as the sun glares on me, bruising my skin with her fingers?
As the dead grass prickles and leaves marks on my skin?
How long can I hold my peace, as an inquisitive spider taps my cheek,
Explores the curves of my face with his tentative feet?
Will I keep my promise to lie here forever, and hold my peace to me?
As the sun slips resentful below the horizon,
As the streetlamps start their nightly gossip - ​buzz, buzz, buzz -
As the phone in my pocket implores me to caress it,
As someone is calling me home?
Will I close my eyes and hold my peace tighter to me?
As somewhere, a radio shrieks a warning,
And weeping is heard behind tightly drawn curtains,
Will I have the serenity to keep my oath, and hold my peace to me?
As the buzz of the streetlamps gives way to the harsher buzz of planes,
Darting low over the darkening sky and dropping little eggs to the grass,
Will I have the wisdom to keep my faith, and hold my peace to me?
As the sky turns smoky and the grass beneath me crumbles to ashes,
Will I break, and run, and leave my little peace to its fate?
Or will I have the courage to look up at a sky filled with war,
And simply hold my peace?

Kaspar Wilder

Kaspar Wilder.