Born For Peace

Born for Peace

Some say human nature

makes us greedy for power

and prone to squabble and fight.

These men call themselves

'realists' and their rhetoric

rules the policies

of most nations

around the world.

Others say that people

are born friendly

and know only love

until they are taught to hate.

These men are said

to be dreamers and idealists.

I'm sure you know the names

of a few who are famous.

The truth, the truth

my friends, is plain to see

if you stop to examine the world

and take some time to think.

Look around, look around

my friends,

add up the number

of military personnel

on the planet and you'll find

there is only one soldier

for every one thousand

civilians around the globe.

If we weren't born with the instinct

to be friendly to one another

we couldn't be social creatures.

If we weren't naturally cooperative

with one another, we couldn't

acquiesce to form governments,

create companies,

or work together on big projects.

And don't forget,

for most of human history,

societies didn't even have police.

Look around my friend

do you shoot your way

to work every day?

And then shoot your way

home at night?

The vast majority

of people on Mother Earth

are busy all their lives with work,

friends and family

And out of all the thousands of years

people have been on the planet

only a small fraction

of that time has been spent

fighting wars.

Now, it's true we each

act out of self-interest,

but anyone who has

made it through a bit of life

understands that often what is best

for his own interest

is other peoples best interest

The truth my friends

is that men are born for peace

and most societies spend

most of their time at peace.

To say that men are naturally

born to fight one another

is a mistaken assumption

that flies in the face of the facts.

It is a sad irony

that in the modern world

the men who always

call us to arms

are never the ones who fight.

Dewey Dirks

Banana Republic

Banana Republic

You know it's looking bad

in your country

when the police start to appear

like the military, all spiffed up

with assault rifles, helmets,

and armored cars

You know it's looking bad

in your country

when both the parties

that run the place

have sold out to big money

and seven out of ten politicians

appear corrupt

You know it's looking bad

in your country

when the money

from big corporations

has more say

about who gets elected

than the voters do

You know it's looking bad

in your country

when the government

has lots of privacy

and people are detained

without due process

When deals are done

behind closed doors

and decisions are made

by secret courts

You know it's looking bad

in your country

when the government

can spy on you

all day long every day

but people who report

government misconduct

are hunted down

and tried for treason

It's looking more and more every day

like our country

has turned into a banana republic

But have hope,my friends

The times are changing

whether big money

wants them to or not

because two irresistible forces

are pushing back---

Global warming

will make governments

and companies

change what they're doing

soon enough

And don't tell anyone (it's a big secret)

but the human spirit

is re-awakening

No one can long fight

Mother Earth on the move

and you cannot oppress

the soul of humanity

for any length of time

once it begins

to shake off its slumber

and wake up

Dewey Dirks

Trumpets

Trumpets

While I was writing this morning

just before sunrise,

I stopped for a minute

to let my cat, Sam, in the front door.

As I opened the door,

a soft breeze beckoned me

to step outside.

The tree and grass in the yard

reflected the morning air

in deep shades of life giving green.

I looked up and the horizon shown

luminescent pale orange and white

as a high, pre-dawn mist

filled the eastern sky.

As the sun edged towards the skyline

two beautiful, vibrant blue sun rays

pierced the pale white sky

as if they were two trumpets

heralding a sunrise song

for the coming day .

Now, I don't know what

good fortune or troubles

the coming day might bring,

but right then nature filled me

with an intimate, unbounded joy.

I think life is often like that---

If you stop each day

for a moment or two

in your busy, busy life

and notice the wonder

that surrounds us all,

you'll find it easier

to remain at peace

despite whatever mayhem

might happen into your day

because you'll remember

you are one tiny piece

of a truly extraordinary

living miracle.

Like a favored child,

if you let her,

Earth will enclothe you, armor you,

and adorn you with a coat of beauty

to reflect your soul

and shine its way

through practically anything.

Dewey Dirks

Four Swallows

Four Swallows

All creatures, big or tiny

that swim, crawl, sit

walk, slither, or fly

upon holy Mother Earth

follow paths of reincarnation

until they reach

the rare highlands, vast golden steppes

and deep oceans blue

to re-learn the compassion

that their spirits eternal

forever have known

Most creatures retire then

to once again know bliss and to rest

but a few innovative souls

return to live one long incarnation

lasting many thousands of years

wherein they teach the ways

of Mother Earth to those who come after

These we call

guardian angels, memes and muses

Long, long ago

four very wise swallows

two male and two female,

named Etta and Daim, Mika, and Till

led their species, teaching

their brothers and sisters

to become the friends

and benefactors of man

They were the first of their kind

to make the long journey each year

from breeding grounds

in the northern hemisphere

to winter feeding grounds

far to the south

They were also the first of their kind

to make their mud nests

in the roofs of human thatch huts

When these four passed on,

each in their turn

the Earth Mother granted them all

long, long lifetimes as muses

to the humans they so loved

Wise Etta chose the task

of teaching humans

how to see truth with their hearts

though for many humans,

this is very hard to learn

Her mate, brave and resourceful Daim

chose the task of teaching humans

to be curious and creative

even in the face of terrible hardship

Compassionate Mika chose the task

of teaching humans

how to reach deep into their souls

and love one another in a way

that never knows death

Her mate, joyous Till

chose the task of teaching humans

to laugh even in the darkest of times

therein finding strength sure and true

to overcome even the most dire adversity

Together, with the great dragon muses,

the cat muses, great and small,

and dog muses, gregarious and wise

who have chosen to nurture the spirits of men,

of Etta and Daim, Mika, and Till

many extraordinary adventures can be told

as they've wandered the world on fleet wing

century upon century

taking hundred year turns

flying first north and east

then south and west, each night quietly

whispering wisdom into human dreams

when minds sleep

and souls awaken

Dewey Dirks

Peace Prevails

Peace Prevails

Life has never failed

to step up to the task

of teaching me

when I am ready to learn

One of the most fortunate

things I've happened to figure out

is that you need to study

the world around you each day

until you can see

the peace and quiet

that forever prevails in nature

amongst the

rattle and tatter

work-a-day business

around us all

that is modern human life

Dewey Dirks

We All Know

We All Know

Anything that becomes too destructive

becomes self-destructive.

Respect everyone

including those who disagree with you.

The people of this earth

know better than our leaders

it's not right for humans

to kill each other

over little pieces of paper

and chunks of land

Greed is irrational

and breeds like a disease

Not proper for humans

to enslave each other

for the money it takes

to get a bigger house

and a nicer car.

The people of this earth

know better than our leaders

it's time to set things right

Time to create a better world

All our religions teach us to love each other

Our science gave us the internet

Now we all are talking to each other

Time to Occupy Earth

We all know

what we need to do

Our leaders are caught

in the last century

telling us to kill each other

but we all know it's no good

We all know

there are better things to do

We all have families to raise

children who need love

friends asking for time to spend

We all know everyone else

loves their children

just like we do

It's time, it's time

to build a better world

Time to Occupy Earth

Time to teach our leaders

how to be decent people

Time to Occupy Earth

and build a better world

We all know

what we need to do

Dewey Dirks

Blue Sky Lightning

Blue Sky Lightning

(For Elaine)

Her name

sounds like a wildflower

Her voice is a rock and roll song

She's rare as blue sky lightning

There are no lies in her ocean

She's determined

as the rocky mountain rising sun

She's towed the heavy

Cinderella line

Blazed trails

across inner city swamps

and wandered the high country

where only heroes

and angels dare to tread

She's in the smile

on the faces of her children

She's the hope in their dreams

She drives the long desert road

in an old Ford hatchback

with Def Leppard on the radio

and an old dog and me by her side

Nothing is impossible in her try

No one ever forgets her face

She's blue sky lightning

with an endless summer

in her shine

Dewey Dirks

Ten Years To Love

Free Speech

Learning Line

Learning Line

He talked with divine surety

his words soaked

with disdain all the while

He appeared to view

every home as a foxhole,

with hoards of beady

black eyed foreigners

evil from across the big waters

waiting to do us all in

He was the kind of guy

you despair talking to

after the first four sentences

Just then my wife called

saying that it was time

to go on an errand

and so, as the ignorance

in his words dripped

off my computer screen

I left him behind

and walked outside

It was a stormy sky

just before sunset

To the west, the sun shone,

a hopeful bright orb

swimming slowly down

to bed behind the mountains

for the night

Clouds above us hung

as a haphazard masterpiece

with broad stokes

of whites and grays

The air all around

sang in joy with shades of gold

while off to the southwest

the sky was very dark in the throws

of a August evening thundershower

After the toxic conversation

I had been having online

the beauty of the evening

was like stepping

into a fresh cascading shower

after trying to fix

a troublesome, old truck

greasy and broken

Struck suddenly breathless

at the beauty all around us,

I looked up at the sky

and thought of a remark

I heard the other day,

“Some live in heaven.

Some live in hell.

Same place.”

Never so much a matter

of at what you're looking

ever more the matter

of where you stand

most of what we each perceive

is of our own making

We all have a long, knotted

learning line to tow

unique to each and every one

Tasked with undoing knots

we each must puzzle

with our own fears and ignorance

until we realize

what we think we battle

is largely a reflection

of ourselves

Until you've walked

in the shoes of another man

and you've felt the weight

of the tow line he carries

it is better to let him struggle

with his own views in his own manner

without judging him to harshly

Remember, the more you know,

the more you are willing to forgive

The more ugly faces you see

when you look

at your fellow humans

the more likely it is

your own fears and ignorance

are what is back looking at you

Dewey Dirks

Men of Peace

Woven

The Questioning Way

The Questioning Way

Curious,

question all

you think you know

and find

you find more

by asking questions

than by

asking answers.

Curious,

touch

the dark night sky

and find a lilting song

in your own soul.

Curious,

touch

the sun and moon

and begin to see

the beauty

hidden in the silence

between all things.

Curious,

touch deep

the green hills

and Mother Earth soil

find strength

and equality

in yourself

and in the world.

Curious,

wander

the long road home

and find

paradise is a way

of travel.

Dewey Dirks

School

School

We were out by our pool

barbequing hamburgers

and hotdogs

at the last family party

before the start

of fall semester at college.

...First he held his hands

high above his head

and happily explained,

“I'm empty clear up to the sky!”

Then he studied the grill

very seriously and asked,

“Where does it go to school?”

I glanced back at him and chuckled,

“Grills don't go to school, budro.”

Now he looked puzzled,

“But where did it learn to color

the hotdogs all red

and the hamburgers brown?”

Then I knew

at four years old

and three feet tall

he had much greater stature

than I could hope for

when it came to seeing

wonder and mystery.

And I realized

that for me at least

college had started

a week early.

Dewey Dirks

Everyone Is

Everyone Is

Everyone is a fool

For at least

Five minutes a day

The trick

Is to try to keep it down

To just five minutes

Everyone can be as wise

As hope

And human wisdom

Know how to be

For at least

Five minutes a day

Consider yourself

A resounding success

If you can

Get it up to ten

Dewey Dirks

Storms

Storms

Mayhem thunders

through our lives

like a hurricane

terrible in its violence

but temporary.

Confusion and ignorance

are more insidious

They hide the truth

in our souls

like a thick fog

lifting only

after the winds

of change and knowing

wash it away.

Confusion, ignorance

and mayhem

are tied together

in that it often takes

the storm that is mayhem

to clear away the fog that

is confusion and ignorance

and the storm often grows

out of the fog bringing its

own demise.

Peace is mans natural state

so common in our lives

that we often

hardly notice the calm

focused as we often are

looking for storm clouds

on the horizon.

It is the bane

of our civilization

that our institutions

and entertainment

have become instruments

of the oppressive

endlessly trying fool

us into believing

we should fear

our brother and sister humans

Remember, my friends

Governments that oppress

the societies they serve

are themselves storms

and like all mayhem

cannot long last.

Dewey Dirks

Morning Coffee

Monday Morning Coffee

Eight am and it's

morning coffee

at down the bar.

Today I met

someone new.

Many, many years

separated us

but we found

much in common

talking about

San Francisco,

her seven year old son,

the latest iPhone troubles,

and my drinking days

thirty-five years past.

Back at home

I looked over

my Facebook stream

---wise words from

Teddy Roosevelt

and Buddha---

Political jokes

and pictures

of tigers and fawns.

Never to walk under

the same blue sky twice,

Each day,

a fresh life.

So long

as you have breath

to breathe

never too old

to learn

something new.

Dewey Dirks

Renewed

Renewed

As it rained today

I went outside to sit

in the back yard

and look for awhile

as the storm

blew in

Wondering, wandering

my soul touched

the wind and rain

and along with the trees

my heart beat renewed

as the wind breathed

new life into the land

The rain

touched me gently

deep inside

and the illusion

of my separation

from life around me

quietly washed away

Dewey Dirks

The Spark

Perfection