Lord of All

(For James Deahl)

Lord of peace
And Lord of all wars
I, simple artist
Born with no concept
Of politics,
No heart for these horrors,
Bow humble before you

Are you aware
That my daughter,
Normally fearless
But a pacifist since the womb,
Leftist to the core,
Wanders homeless from the bombs
Demolishing her town
Even this moment
As I attempt
To distract your attention
From the news on the television

Lord of war
And Lord of peace
just a suggestion to you
In your warless heaven,
Perhaps the time is auspicious
To copy the chromosomes
Of those of us humans
Opposed to violence,
To impose a holy law
Which would eliminate
The war chromosome
From all babies born
From now on

A daring experiment
An innovative concept
Perhaps a solution
To a continuous war
That has lasted
Since Adam
And refuses to finish

Anything really, Lord,
That would cause war to cease,
Permanently and forever
We’d be so appreciative
My daughter could return home
Blood rivers would stop their flow
Forests would grow from war-ashes
And we could all sleep again

© 8.2006 Helen Bar-Lev