And Then Our Peace Will Come
by Damond O'Connor
November 15, 2002

Editorial note: The author's Mom sent us this poem by her 8th grader son. It's not only good poetry, it's also an indication of the youthful mindset as we contemplate the prospect of perpetual war.

The dreaded fear of war persists inside the minds of man,
The visions of sadness rage and war is all we understand.

The reality of all this waste scares men from starting war.
Is the bomb a bluff? Will the buttons be pushed? What are the weapons for?

The fear of fire, apocalyptic fate, please God, is this a dream?
You wake to find men threatening war but they are not what they seem.

The fear of war is Keeping Peace!!!!!! My God, what are we in?
A ticking timebomb ready to blow and none will be left to win.

The Third World War has now begun. The widespread damage has been done. Growing doom, anxiety, when fear of fire takes over me.

To never wake to see the dawn – to know this madness is going on.
If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.

The sound of civil service bells racing through my head.
The gripping fear of waking up to find all the people dead.

To know the sky is closing in, the sun is hot and growing dim.
The mushroom cloud is growing near ... Run for you lives, the end is here!!!!

Open your eyes, the sun is bright. You squint your eyes to see the light.
Is this insanity all a dream? Open your minds and scream!!

The sound of screaming siren calls inside the darkness of the night.
The luciferous magic of glowing clouds, the destructive rays of light.

A dying child within a cloud of highly toxic mist, the shrouded cries of those survivors the deadly blast had missed.
The sky is black in all my dreams but I awaken before the end.
Reality is worse than dreams, a fear I cannot mend.

There'll come a day when all this fear will ultimately succumb.
This un-timed bomb is soon to explode and then "Our Peace Will Come".