2006 FIRST PLACE

WHAT ABOUT PEACE?
Rocxanne Robinson
16 years old, California

What about peace ?
What about love ?
No bleeding hearts, or crying faces
Or chambers left vacant in broken
Hearts.
What about peace ? The calm before the storm and the
Cold empty shells now like gold
Upon the ground.
Here come the sons and daughters
To join the ranks as soldiers. Here
Come the carts to take away
The fallen; no now widowed wife
Can stop them, no crying child.
What about peace ?
When all is said and done and
All the remains of your victorious life are
A cold and solid dewy marble headstone.
What about peace ?
When the gun-smoke clears and the
Waters roll with crimson lips.
What about peace ?
When no word or song can comfort; when
It doesn't matter if you'll be right.
Inevitable, the colossus of the world.