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Anti-war essays, poems, short stories and literary excerpts
American writers on peace and against war
Women writers on peace and war
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Nancy Byrd Turner
Let Us Have Peace
The earth is weary of our foolish wars.
Her hills and shores were shaped for lovely things,
Yet all our years are spent in bickerings
Beneath the astonished stars.
April by April laden with beauty comes,
Autumn by autumn turns our toil to gain,
But hand at sword-hilt, still we start and strain
To catch the beat of drums.
Knowledge to knowledge adding, skill to skill,
We strive for others’ good as for our own –
And then, like cavemen snarling with a bone,
We turn and rend and kill…
With life so fair, and all too short a lease
Upon our special star! Nay, love and trust,
Not hate and violence shall redeem our dust.
Let us have peace!
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