Proclamation for Peace

Whereas the world is a house on fire;
Whereas the nations are filled with shouting;
Whereas hope seems small, sometimes
        a single bird on a wire left by
        migration behind.

Whereas kindness is seldom in the news
        and peace an abstraction
        while war is real;

Whereas words are all I have;
Whereas my life is short;
Whereas I am afraid;
Whereas I am free—despite all
        fire and anger and fear;

Be it therefore resolved a song
        shall be my calling—a song
        not yet made shall be vocation
        and peaceful words the work
        of my remaining days.

from Wild Honey, Tough Salt


Kim Stafford is a writer in Oregon who teaches and travels to raise the human spirit. He founded the Northwest Writing Institute in 1986, and co-founded the Fishtrap Writers Gathering in 1987. He is the author of a dozen books of poetry and prose, including Having Everything Right: Essays of Place and Singer Come from Afar.

In 2018, Gov. Kate Brown named him Oregon’s ninth poet laureate, and he visited over a hundred groups statewide to share the reading and writing of poetry. He has taught writing in dozens of schools and colleges, and in Scotland, Italy, Mexico, and Bhutan.


Featured Image: Photo by Mabel Amber via Pixabay

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