Wow, the first in the series of Poets Against War or Poets for Peace. Hopefully I can do it justice! In riffing on peace and war, several things came together in my mind – or rather, many things came hopping through it! I hope the resulting series of images, words, and music will act as a meditation for you on this first day of Poets Against War. This will be synchro-posted at my blog, http://www.cloakedmonk.com. Feel free to reblog or synchropost elsewhere just link back to here.
First, a meme (my new favorite weird thing to do – make memes)…
Second, I have been noodling this around and the predominant thought I had was to sing a duet with my son, Colin Stewart. Colin is 17 and much more talented than I! But we held it together in order to sing an old church song, Peace Give I to Thee. Colin is playing the ukelele and singing. I confess that our sound system is not wonderful, so we both tempered ourselves to not blow out the microphones. It is accompanied by photos I took in the Bellevue Botanical Garden which bring me incredible peace.
Finally, the nature of the quest: Poets Against War or Poets for Peace. So black and white, it begs a reflection.
dichotomy
war destroys peace
hate destroys love
butterfly destroys chrysalis
child destroys dandelion
lion destroys lamb
lamb redeems lion
dandelion redeems child
chrysalis redeems butterfly
love redeems hate
peace redeems war
unity
And another old favorite, “Breathe Deep” by the Lost Dogs which speaks to the unity of all-even when we are uncomfortable with that unity.
Peace Out!
Terri
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© 2013, post and photos, Terri Stewart, All rights reserved
REV. TERRI STEWART is Into the Bardo’s Sunday chaplain, senior content editor, and site co-administrator. She comes from an eclectic background and considers herself to be grounded in contemplation and justice. She is the Director and Founder of the Youth Chaplaincy Coalition that serves youth affected by the justice system. As a graduate of Seattle University’s School of Theology and Ministry, she earned her Master’s of Divinity and a Post-Master’s Certificate in Spiritual Direction. She is a contributing author to the Abingdon Worship Annual. (The 2014 issue just released!)
Her online presence is “Cloaked Monk.” This speaks to her grounding in contemplative arts and the need to live it out in the world. The cloak is the disguise of normalcy as she advocates for justice and peace. You can find her at www.cloakedmonk.com, www.twitter.com/cloakedmonk, and www.facebook.com/cloakedmonk.
The BeZine 
Lovely post for a Sunday morning, Terri. I love that your 17 year old son will sing with you; I’m thinking you must have some charisma as a mum of a teenaged boy. Your poem is also super. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks! I never considered it to be a charism, but I suppose it is! Thanks! I am not the best singer, but it isn’t about performance in this context, but about being peace. Thank you for reading and listening!
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It is absolutely about putting the message out there, Terri, which you did threefold today 🙂
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Always great to keep music in the family. Lovely post.
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A wonderful Sunday post and a fine kick-off for “Poets Against War” … The string of peaceables delights … We’ve begun … 🙂 Happy Sunday, Terri. Thank you!
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A fun and thought-provoking collage of music, images and thoughts of peace. Looking forward to what this week brings. I believe it is the artists of all types who will effect peace.
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It is the artists who imagine things in a new way! I am also getting jazzed.
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Terri, I’ve been intrigued and heard music that I’ve never been exposed to, an added token to understanding who you are, a brilliant light. A beautiful poetry piece, does it have a name to this style ? I can’t really recall. Nevertheless it’s beautiful in each one of the comparisons– there’s a restorative essence in each. Once again, a fabulous post! Sincerely Debbie
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Thank you so much!
There is a form where the latter half of the poem is the reverse of the first half and that is a palindrome. This is a modification of that.
And thank you again!
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I think you’ve certainly given us alot to consider and done a wonderful job doing it. Thank You! http://reneejustturtleflight.com/2013/09/29/i-considered-myself/
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Thanks much for this wonderful post full of thought and effort and beauty! And most of all, peace. I had not heard either song, so those were a treat. I also really liked the form of your poem, it flowed really well and using the opposites seemed to emphasize each! Your post is a good reminder that we are all connected…in peace or war, in love or hate…so when we hurt another, we really just hurt ourselves. So we may as well be peaceful, right? 🙂
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