I see a star high above,
Shining down upon us all,
It is the star of hope eternal,
Audacious in every way,
It calls to us,
It summons us,
To give our peace the best,
To others in our need,
From others in our own,
I see a star,
Bright and brilliant,
Studded with our common dreams,
To rid our earth of needless war,
Ugly violence,
Blood upon the stones,
For what?
Today,
On this dedication day,
We follow our hearts,
To new awakenings,
We touch that star together,
Our common aims for enduring peace,
Our one humanity,
Blessed by Allah,
Blessed by God,
Blessed by all which is good and great,
That which nourishes our common stream,
Our shared desires for common understanding,
Our planet,
Our home,
Our best and highest dreams,
Made real.
No more needless disease,
No more poverty,
No more tyranny,
And no more wars.
I see that star,
You see it too,
We reach for it together,
And seize it for ourselves,
Our common gifts to each.
Hands of every color,
Grasping one another,
In common understanding,
That peace has come,
A very practical matter.
Not peace tomorrow,
But peace today,
The voice rings out,
To everyone,
Come share the star you see,
The shining on your face,
Bring it down for all to see,
Making common talk,
About common things.
Our mothers, fathers, daughters, sons,
The friends we cherish,
We all have them,
Our extended families,
Now extending them world wide,
Including all,
Excluding none,
The love unspoken,
In every human heart,
The prayers of our vigils,
Heard in every holy and sacred place,
Allah hears and answers,
God hears and answers,
The Great Spirit hears and answers,
And so also must we answer,
Shall we have everlasting peace?
Or just endless eternal wars?
Shall we save our still beautiful earth,
Our very home,
Place of our ancestors,
Place of our dreams.
Shall we have love?
Then only humankind can decree,
The sword will rule nevermore!
Only peace shall rule,
Our loyalties are to the whole world,
Or not at all.
Loyal to peace,
Loyal to a good and healthy life for all,
Loyal to free and open democracy,
Loyal to every child on earth,
That none shall suffer needlessly,
Forevermore.
©Michael Warren Eliseuson Spring 2008
meliseus@hotmail.com