So, is all right with the world? Reflections on Recent Wars / Frederico Garolfo/Tom McDermott/Sree Gururaja

"The year's at the spring

And day's at the morn;

Morning's at seven;

the hillside's dew pearled;

The lark's on the wind

The snail's on the thorn;

God's in his Heaven -

All's right with the world!"

Excerpt from Pippa's Passing

                                by Robert Browning                     

Yes, the year's at the spring,

But today we all mourn

Ukraine, Sudan and others torn,

Their hillside's dew is covered red

With blood of babes in their bed.

Te snail's slimy pathways

Which God is it anyways?

All's NOT right with the world.

      by Frederico Garofalo

No, indeed, 

all's not right with the world when........

their hearts long gone cold

men with guns fight for gold.

what price their lust for power

while others weep and cower?

families shattered

homes abandoned

futures sold

for someone's gold

so much pain

for so little gain

in a world not sane

by Tom McDermott

My Hope for change

While women gather their children  and flee

Men use their guns  with glee

Others afar, like me,  worry for their families

Not sure how to save them from further calamity

One wonders why power has such a hold

Ushering death and destruction in its fold

Are we really helpless and hands tied

Or lack the courage to intervene? 

There needs to be some awakening

On preventing such happenings

For sitting in our homes we watch and wonder

Who or what will bring new beginnings for peace and harmony.

As never before we now know how 

To tackle disease and poverty

Yet the suffering of the poor exacerbates

While the power mongers continue to seize and manipulate

Resources, armies and  everything else. 

Much has been written and analysed 

About the future role of the UN 

Keeping watch from the sidelines

While civil strife and unchecked bad governance 

Provide much evidence to speculate 

Will nations regroup or bifurcate

Sealing borders with chaotic haste

Endangering the world’s fate.

I fear that the next generation will hold us accountable 

For not cleaning up the environment mess

The increasing disparities and manifold divides

Obscuring equality, human rights  and development.

I sadly wonder that when our time comes 

What will we be remembered for ? 

Alongside our personal triumphs and glorious memories

We’d have left  behind a collective legacy of not victory but defeat.

Sree Gururaja