We Fight
Leaders perch at lavish tables
giving lip service to peace,
but inaction murders us.
And still we fight.
Skin purples from pressure
as our human family splits
over land or riches.
And still we fight.
The ground explodes as we play
where sixty years ago
they planted mines instead of rice.
And still we fight.
All hearts need to belong
to be included,
and our soft bones know
that othering
is just mothering fallen short.
Yet still we fight.
Currently living on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan, Jake Sleutel works as an artist/electrician and spends his time playing guitar, knitting sweaters, searching for sculptural sticks, and contemplating a kinder world. The time he spent in the Arctic, while serving in the Coast Guard, was formative. He tries to encourage others by watering good seeds.
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