Blessed are the Peacemakers

Blessed are the peacemakers

By Ryan Clark

Newton’s dynamic law says

energy cannot be created or destroyed.

But it can be transformed.

When the gunshots fade and the smoke clears,

we celebrate those whose hands are clasped

in tentative accord.

And we should.

But they are not peacemakers.

The wrist muscle of hatred— of power

and fear—that contracted to squeeze the trigger

has not atrophied.

It simply rests.

And when it recovers, don't doubt

 it will contract again, for it is a powerful muscle

that has been trained to flex.

Who will teach this muscle to dig a well

or hoe the ground and scatter seed,

gathering the reaping for a communal feast?

Who will teach this muscle to paint a mural,

to message a weary shoulder, to serve a hot casserole,

to make a hard phone call,

to reshape the rifle into a rake?

Peace is not a ceasefire, but a planting.

Peace is not an absence

but a presence.

Blessed are the re-trainers.

Blessed are the void-fillers.