From these Hunched and Aching Shoulders

 

From these hunched and aching shoulders

From these hunched and aching shoulders

Let drop the onuses of work and duty,

Worries, fears and fretful tears. O merciful

Gods of health and welfare, ease up the

Ache of pressure, introduce me to the

Odes of pleasure. Weary am I of worldly

Cares, and dream I of shores with sands

Aplenty; wash my sweat away with your

Fresh young waves, drink me in to your

Warmth of acceptance. Punishment, I

Do assure you, will not make me stronger

Or more efficient. Send in the fairies of

Fairness; there ought to be fairies of fairness

To fan their wings and blow the fear away.

 

From these weary hands please remove

Merciless calendar dates of chores, that

I may do good with what strength is left

To shore up the good in man and hold

The aches and pains of others at bay. We are

Born as fellow man, not as foe; foedom

Is an artificial reef in life, set to trap

And to destroy the weaker ones and mild.

Such imbalance does not serve.

 

From these tired eyes take these scenes

Of hurt, the pain of the bullied, the cry

Of the weary, the ache of the lost, the crime

Of murder and mayhem. These old eyes have

Seen enough – nay, way too much of such

Tortured souls and unhealed hurting. Let there

Be no more, it is so very wrong.

 

From this world take away the sins of Man

And heal the holes in souls they have hurt.

From vocabulary, erase the power of words

That wound, that Man may not know how

To desecrate and wound and kill.

 

From the Heart of Man, scale the weighty scales of

Infidelity, distrust, suspicion, jealousy and

Hate. Infuse him instead with the kiss of

Kindness. Let him understand the true

Meaning of

Peace.

 

From these hunched and aching shoulders

Let drop

The fate of a Prometheus Bound.

Let them wear the mantle of Peace.

 

­–H. W. Bryce

Image by intographics from Pixabay

 

About admin

Judge at 6th Rabindrinath Tagore Awards - International - English Poetry Contest Author of Ann, A Tribute, and Chasing a Butterfly, A story of love and loss to Acceptance with the poetry of Alzheimer's and poetry for everybody. Appears in anthologies in Canada, US, India, Mexico and Bolivia. Poetry in Ekphrastic Review and NWriteers International Networeworld Review. Member of Federation of BC Wrters, Royal City Literary Society, and Holy Wow Poets Canada. Member Writers International Network: Distinguished Poet, Distinguished writer.
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