The Finer Art Of Peace Poem by Phan Thanh gian

(In praise of Mahatma Gandhi)

Have we known the many sorrows of war?
Now, have we also known some joy of peace?
Which one would you rather have it be?
How simple yet hard are our choices.

We sacrifice everything, to protect it all...
Such a paradoxical foolishness!
Ones who advocate violence to win peace,
Are only blinding you with their fear

When peace will be a ubiquitous,
As the sun shining on all beings?
It is when we know we're all Children of Light
And everyone deserves its brightness

When wars drag on for countless centuries,
Eternally dark as the moon's other half
It is when humans refuse to embrace peace,
Burrow themselves in their own toiling torments

Peace demands patience, tolerance
It demands our understanding, all our wit...
We must rise to the challenge of fulfilled harmony
We shan't give in to our hateful beastly side

Peace requires our courage, all of our passion
By learning to reason and embrace.
It is finer to live a straw hut peacefully
Than have marble mansion borne of conflicts

Martial master Sun Tzu - with all my due respect
I admire your candor and intention
Yet I must beg to differ on the basis of principle:
We as humans must believe in peace or perish!

Employ Diplomats

Better to invest in a few thousand peacemakers
Than to employ a standing army of mercenaries
The former generate greater goods, less costly
The latter bounds to wreak havocs dearly!

Prepare for peace... by making peace

If you prepare for war - then war will be inevitable...
As it's a predictable self-fulfilling prophesy
If you want peace, be sincere
Learn the arts of negotiation... bring trust to the table

'An eye for an eye...

Will make the whole world blind'
So look up to see the brothers and sisters
And have a kinder gentler look
At each other in trust and sincerity
Have faith in humanity, have faith in ourselves...

Blinded by sinister thoughts
We push each other towards MAD
Enlightened by hope,
We carry one another to pacific ideals

The war drums deafening our ears
With their patriotic fervor and hateful infusion
But I tell you this my dear friends:
Patriotism has never been a friend of violence

Armed conflict tears each of us apart
Widows, orphans refugees stream in droves
Away from the fire of hell, screaming tears
No good deeds can redeem all the killings

Father fought against son, child against mother
Brothers are asked to murder their own kins
Neighbors against neighbors, kith against clans
Such is the horrible, raw nature of war

No amount of justification can outdo the wrongs
Many mountain of bones, countless rivers of blood
Piled up high, overflowed by the pillage, the rape
The destructions, the wanton vicious cycle of revenge...