One child...
wrapped in grandmother's quilt.
Protected from the night's raw chill...
sits on a grassy knoll
and lifts innocent eyes to the stars.
Dreaming the visions of a child
not yet plagued by life's unjust ordeals.

Dreams of play, dreams of peace...
reverie lacking all vilification
for seeds of hatred
have not yet been taught.

-Longing for this child's innocence.-

I sit beside her...
my gaze focused on the same faint points
of a somber twilight.
She attempts to fill my mind with her
visions of inner dreams,of peace.

But alas, I am much older;
although I fight the seeds of hatred
sown long ago...
rooted phantoms castigate my soul.

-Longing for this child's purity of love.-

My dreams are reality,
nightmares assaulting all senses.

Exploding buildings...
Falling forms of people
forced to choose death from flame or hard concrete.
Smelling the stench of burnt decaying flesh.
As vultures feed upon our nation.

Hearing the screams of innocence
trapped in the rubble awaiting their
slow horrific death...
Alone!

Tasting an acid thirst, a desire for revenge
devours any sense of justice within me.

Feeling anguish for children
who have lost parents or loved ones.
My outcry sees seeds of hatred planted,
and taking root in new and fertile souls.

-Longing for this child's peaceful dreams.-


She removes a warm hand from beneath the quilt.
Without hesitation, she reaches out to me.
Too young to know why...
movement born from instinct...
sensing my need for comfort.

-Hope becomes rooted, sown by one pure child.-

Now I see... all of her dreams reside in my hands.
My part of this tenuous bargain called humanity.
To build a chance for this one special child,
our possible future.

Without a sound we return our thoughtful gaze
into the night's darkness as clouds begin to clear.
The star's faint glow is minute, a soft web of light
embracing this child's innocent trust.

Once again I can dream her dreams.
We remain, two silent souls searching
the celestial pathways for others who hope as we --

*-To discover a child's pure desire to heal.-