Peace is Present
Peace is present right here and
now, in ourselves and in
everything we do and see. The
question is whether or not we are
in touch with it. We don’t have to
travel far away to enjoy the blue
sky. We don’t have to leave our
city or even our neighborhood to
enjoy the eyes of a beautiful child.
Even the air we breathe can be a
source of joy.
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
1802.
She’s faced the hardest times
you could imagine
and many times her eyes fought back the tears
and when her youthful world
was about to fall in
each time her slender shoulders
bore the weight of all her fears
and a sorrow no one hears
still rings in midnight silence,
in her ears
Let her cry, for she’s a lady
let her dream, for she’s a child
let the rain fall down upon her
She’s a free and gentle flower,
growing wild
and if by chance I should hold her
let me hold her for a time
but if allowed just one possession
I would pick her from the garden,
to be mine
Be careful how you touch her,
for she’ll awaken
and sleep’s the only freedom that she knows
and when you walk into her eyes,
you won’t believe
the way she’s always paying
for a debt she never owes
and a silent wind still blows
that only she can hear and so she goes
Let her cry, for she’s a lady
let her dream, for she’s a child
let the rain fall down upon her
She’s a free and gentle flower,
growing wild
Willliam Blake
From: Songs of Innocence and Experience
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o’er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice!
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Little Lamb I’ll tell thee,
Little Lamb I’ll tell thee!
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee.