Dear Friends,
 Each week, FOR Executive Director Mark Johnson writes a poetic reflection on the news headlines. These are published exclusively on FOR's Facebook page. "Like" us on Facebook and you'll regularly see Mark's "Search for Right Relationship" series as well our daily "Voices FOR Peace" feature. Throughout April, National Poetry Month, we offer distinctive selections from Maya Angelou, Robert Frost, Denise Levertov, Thich Nhat Hanh, Alice Walker, William Stafford, and other favorite writers.
Here is Mark's testimonial for today (known in the United States as "Tax Day"):
April 15th
Every gun and warship a theft from the common
good the president said when I used to throw the
nickel paper on the morning stoops of my neighborhood;
We heard him then, but only now is he understood.
The labor of those days bought comic books, sneakers,
a college education and a career of discovering the world,
today that same effort would leave most hungry at day's
end and open few doors except to debt and poverty
as he warned a generation ago. What future now?
This used to be a contract beyond a price-tag
An understanding of what is owed for privileges
Of freedom from and freedom to and freedom for
But sometime in the last generation, in my lifetime
the air has gone out of the tire, the flag's fallen flat
against the pole, the sense of direction and clear
leadership has been lost in no small part because
a trust has been devalued by labeling everything
a cost and leaving nothing of value to bind us,
wealth no longer a measure of well-being rather
a metric to be flaunted by a few while most are left
with worry as their reward and no confidence they,
we, can be heard over the cacophony of crony
capitalists crying wolf while the sheep are sheared
And they wear the raiment of the robe of liberty
like a remnant of that dream which has disappeared.
This week, FOR is helping organize the Global Day of Action on Military Spending, supporting a Capitol Hill protest of gun lobbyists, and mobilizing anti-drone rallies throughout the nation.
Help us continue these efforts to end violence and militarism -- in the face of an estimated 47% of the federal budget devoted to military-related expenditures -- with a generous, tax-deductible donation to the Fellowship of Reconciliation today.
Blessings,
The team of poets and peacemakers at FOR |
