I have just come across this poem written by Fr Shay Cullen (Preda) who stepped out of the safety of life to live his vocation as Jesus did - God Bless him....
PEACE
PEACE
PEACE is not the silence of the guns, the end of war. It is nor pretending that evil never stalked this land Or the innocent dying in suffering and in chains. Peace can only come when justice has been done To ease the pain of open
wounds and heal the angry hearts. Is the road to peace down the pathways of the past, To forget and cover-up misdeeds and smother truth? When those we loved were torn away and killed?
Will we forget the darkest night when the wretched of the earth Hung from prison walls for their truly held beliefs The darkened dungeons echoed with their cries and screams, Enough to shrink the bravest heart with fear?
An uncaring world stopped up its ears and looked away While eyes were gouged and human limbs were broken One by one or electric shocks made them beg for death.
Their torture has no end. No peace for them, not even the silence of the grave to end their torment, It pursued them in the nightmares of their minds, On the brightest day, in the darkest night, to the farthest mountain peak There is no escape from the memories of the maniacs Who pleasured as they pained.
The bravest stood serene Enduring all wit conviction un-betrayed. Reviled and spat upon with dignity they died. Their spirits roam this troubled land seeking peace For both the living and the dead. Justice they demand.
Forgiveness is never easy To those who suffered torture and endless loss. Crying "peace" will never heal the vicious wounds of war. Only justice has the power to purge the soul and give The freedom to understand injustice, forgive an enemy, Overcome the torment and the fear and make this nation new.
Forgiveness, the kind that heals the victim, sows the seed of peace. Like a desert cactus touched by gentle rain, It brings to bud a flower we never thought could be.
Peace is when the land theirs who work it and die on it. It is when the prison gate opens for the innocent and closes on the guilty. Peace is when a nation's wealth brings an equal chance to all. It fills the mind with knowledge, the hand with skills, the home with food. Peace is a nation standing against violence and brutality. It prosecutes the unjust, it frees the innocent, It brings light into take darkness. Peace thrives on the truth. It is giving not taking. It is when people become friends.
Peace is a passionate lover of life, Like music to the ear, it is balm to soul, it's in the song of a bird, the sound of the breeze, The color of the sunset, the gentle beating of the heart. It grows among us when we respect and listen, When we share our thoughts and feelings, When we have compassion and concern.
Peace is the harmony of creation. The dance of the stars, the waltz of the plants The galactic swirl.
It is the voice of the universe talking to itself It is in us when we touch the Almighty, It is the beginning of life and its true end.
Shay Cullen
Published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer Dated: January 02, 1994
Will we forget the darkest night when the wretched of the earth Hung from prison walls for their truly held beliefs The darkened dungeons echoed with their cries and screams, Enough to shrink the bravest heart with fear?
An uncaring world stopped up its ears and looked away While eyes were gouged and human limbs were broken One by one or electric shocks made them beg for death.
Their torture has no end. No peace for them, not even the silence of the grave to end their torment, It pursued them in the nightmares of their minds, On the brightest day, in the darkest night, to the farthest mountain peak There is no escape from the memories of the maniacs Who pleasured as they pained.
The bravest stood serene Enduring all wit conviction un-betrayed. Reviled and spat upon with dignity they died. Their spirits roam this troubled land seeking peace For both the living and the dead. Justice they demand.
Forgiveness is never easy To those who suffered torture and endless loss. Crying "peace" will never heal the vicious wounds of war. Only justice has the power to purge the soul and give The freedom to understand injustice, forgive an enemy, Overcome the torment and the fear and make this nation new.
Forgiveness, the kind that heals the victim, sows the seed of peace. Like a desert cactus touched by gentle rain, It brings to bud a flower we never thought could be.
Peace is when the land theirs who work it and die on it. It is when the prison gate opens for the innocent and closes on the guilty. Peace is when a nation's wealth brings an equal chance to all. It fills the mind with knowledge, the hand with skills, the home with food. Peace is a nation standing against violence and brutality. It prosecutes the unjust, it frees the innocent, It brings light into take darkness. Peace thrives on the truth. It is giving not taking. It is when people become friends.
Peace is a passionate lover of life, Like music to the ear, it is balm to soul, it's in the song of a bird, the sound of the breeze, The color of the sunset, the gentle beating of the heart. It grows among us when we respect and listen, When we share our thoughts and feelings, When we have compassion and concern.
Peace is the harmony of creation. The dance of the stars, the waltz of the plants The galactic swirl.
It is the voice of the universe talking to itself It is in us when we touch the Almighty, It is the beginning of life and its true end.
Shay Cullen
Published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer Dated: January 02, 1994
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