Peace Will Rise

PEACE WILL RISE
--For Connie Curry

We were the world’s first colony
We yet may be its last
Five hundred years ruled by another land
The violence, the cruelty
The stealing of our past
Who dared to hope that peace might be at hand?

The Irish sea that sheltered us
And sometimes kept us safe
Still breaks its heart upon the English shore
But when the storm is over
And the sea lies wide as dreams
Then peace will rise
From these green hills once more

Five centuries have hardened us
To struggle and resist
‘Til neighbors seem like enemies, not friends
Until one day we find within
The courage to desist
From violence that grows and never ends

If those who prayed for violence
And shed their children’s blood
Can work for peace that lasts beyond all time
Then enemies in other lands
May some day staunch the flood
Of war that breaks all hearts, both yours and mine