I wish the madness
to quiet, if only
for a moment.
The crack of hate
in rifle fire,
the murder in
a patriot’s angry
eye, or one neighbor
killing another.
Let the scurry
for capital,
crushing the
weak on the
way to the top
of this burning
heap halt and,
for once, let
voices calling
for peace ring
out across
the land. Peace.
We need that
word back on
the tongues
of children, soldiers,
waitresses and
garbage men.
So I wish not for
fireworks and
parades today,
but for silence,
stillness in a wave
of well-being
like nothing ever
felt before, this
Fourth of July.
Source