Day 41 of the Poetry for Peace Challenge 2018-19 - Sunday 27th May 2018. Today I am very proud to feature a very special guest poet, my 6-year-old granddaughter, Alia, whose lovely poem is included here. Enjoy!

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We are all Connected

by Steve Cook

We're all connected,

Like spiritual cells

Split off from a cluster,

Exiled in bodies,

Each from the other,

Each discreet self

Whole yet incomplete.

Trapped in quiet desperation,

In the void called "alone",

We hope for salvation,

Yearn for union,

Craving the poor mimicry of it

In the games called sex

And relationships, teamwork,

Neighborhood and brotherhood.

We know we are incomplete

But can't make sense of it,

Like each one of us is a facet

Of a multifaceted god

Who broke into pieces,

Each piece with amnesia.

Yet you can feel it,

The others guy's pain,

His joys, his hopes and

Shattered dreams.

You weep for his losses

And smile for his happiness.

When he grows taller

We all add a few inches

And when he dies

We all die with him,

Just a little but enough

To leave us troubled.

And our wars are the game

That everybody loses

To one degree or another.

Can't you feel it?

We are all in this together.

Hate to break it to you

But your oppressor

Don't want you to see it

And he's hit you with propaganda

That can be dangerously convincing.

But we are all connected

And that's the truth of it.

And the only way back

Is to live it.

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by Alia Mirdita, age 6

I used to be off

For a fantasy

'Cos that was the life for me.

Sometimes they glow

Shinier than

I would ever know.