"We Must Resist"

Today is Peace Day but they don't talk about it in France. Nothing on the news. They talk about some sort of war: terrorism. The country is at high risk...

Because I am stubborn and idealist, I still bother my friends or my colleagues about how important it is to be a self-conscious citizen of the world. So, for today, Peace Day, I have asked my friend Alex Ness to share a poem with us. Alex is a poet, a writer and a great friend.

Here is to you...

WE MUST RESIST

Ares, Deimos and Phobos
Have called us too many times
To enter into a place
Where devastation exists
Where death is embraced
We must linger in our hopes
Instead of acting upon our fears
We must stand and resist
Embracing love and building up
Reaching together
Instead of the wars
And causes of the tears
Our world will last
Far longer than we
If we keep sending troops
Marching endless
Unto eternity
We must resist the tribal urge
To send our children to war
For there can never be unity
If we give in endlessly
To our bestial philosophies
Let us linger in the dreams
That give us reasons to live
Let us be more than we are
Let us decide our own legacies
Or upon fields of battle
Our children will go
And they will fall
Our seed will live in a distant place
Elysium
Where they will sleep
Forever
All in peaceful embrace
In final peace

To read Alex's beautiful poetry, it's here: Alex Ness Poetry
To know more about Alex and his writing, it's here: Alex Ness Poet & Writer

International Day of Peace 2010

La Fille à la Fleur. Marc Riboud

The International Day of Peace 2010 is tomorrow, the 21st of September.

It is a global call for ceasefire and non-violence. This year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on young people around the world to take a stand for peace under the theme, Youth and Peace for Development.

Think about it, speak about it, to your colleagues, to your friends, to your family, to your children. Write a poem, say a poem, sing a song, light a candle, go to an event...

Men have always been fighting but I have a dream it can be different. Do you?

An Afghan youth puts up a poster for the International Day of Peace