The Enemy Within Poem by Laurence Overmire

I have no enemies

If you turn me into an
Enemy
It is your own doing

For my part, I hold
Love and peace and kindness
In my mind and in my heart

You bear responsibility
For the pain and suffering
You inflict

On your innocent brothers
And sisters
And mothers and sons

Our fathers may well weep
That so many of their children
Have gone the way of hate

Look within to heal yourself
Eliminate the need
Eliminate the desire

To hate

The wound is deep
The wound is painful
I know

But do not be deceived

We are not enemies, my friend
We are not
Enemies

My friend

There is no difference
From heart to heart
Man to man
Woman to woman
Color to color
Nation to nation

We are the same
We are the same
We are

The same.

~ Laurence Overmire

(Previously published in Love Poems, Papyrus Press, LLC,2024)