Frame for a New World

by Anne Gordon Perry, on intentionality

Surviving in this anxious age

with trust that things will change eroded,

leadership gone awry,

human dignity discounted,

the threat of war and deportation looming,

loss of rights and freedoms pending,

we stumble and retreat, imagination

flailing, dreams diminished.

But what if we fathom possible worlds,

build a stanchion that carries us

beyond the need for war

(East meeting West,

city and country cooperating,

women and men in harmony,

a chorus made of all the races,

embrace of rich and poor,

a new form of governance)

until we clasp the tender hopes of all?

What if we create and offer a platter of peace

(receive and pass it on, smiling,

thankful,

listening with new ears,

seeing with eyes newly wakened)

finding shelter under a larger shade tree?

What if we join the singing of a world-wise chorus,

clasp the varied-hued hands,

clamor for wisdom from both youth and elder,

scoop the joy,

weave the wonder,

and invite the luster

of a whole new world?