All I Want Is Peace..... Poem by RIC BASTASA

all i wanted then
is just to live a simple life.

fishing by the river on a Sunday.
waiting for the big fish to bite
my hook on a sunny day with a straw
hat on my head and a pack of lunch
ready for my eating.

all i wanted then was a peaceful
day. I may see a kite beneath my head
or a flock of migrating birds
and what i hear is only the murmur of
a ripple from time to time
or the sound of gossamer wings of
a dragonfly transferring from one
one reed to another.

that was all that i wanted
but i never had it.
everything i have is chaos.
a gnarled thought, a crowded room.
a garden of dead leaves.
a rusty knife, a broken gun.
a faded memory of you.
a hopeless kind of love.
a burnt self image.
shatters of dreams hurting me
in bed.
a scream amid the storms.

a wish of reverses.
a prayer for karma.
a death wish for one who
destroyed many lives because of
lies and curses.

all i want is peace.
and there is never one.