Peace is Here

This is peace
Here in this room
The fire by my side
Close enough to keep warm
But not get burnt
Peace is here

It’s not in the absence
Of pain or questions or sorrows
It’s not in the voices
Flowing through these walls

It’s not in the beating
Of this music or my heart
It’s not in the shadows
The lights cast on the ground

It’s not in the mending
Of hearts which have to break
It’s not in the solvency
From what I try to resolve

It’s not in the photos
Showing a little one’s joy
It’s not in the doorways
Which take me to another room

It’s not in my mind
Which always seems to wander
It’s not in my answers
For what I don’t understand

It’s not in my emotions
That settle to the ground and bounce off walls
It’s not in this poem
Which is just one letter after another

It’s not that at all
It’s more than that
It’s not any one of these
But it’s all of these put together

It’s all of my surroundings
Constantly spinning me around
It’s who’s surrounding me
Telling me to spin around

It’s spinning in this dance
Planned for me to do
It’s singing with the music
Which is both old and new

Peace in the simplest moments
And in the most complex ones I see

It’s in every day and night
It’s in the hug and the fight:
It’s faith in a higher power
making it all right
Peace is here tonight

--Written by Sandy Heights