Joneal L. from Jamaica in Kristi Halpern’s New York cluster submitted an original poem that has been chosen as the winner for this year’s Peace Day Contest.
“Dreams of Peace”
My unborn child,
I hope that,
When you crawl into bed at night,
You dream of peace in the world
When I kiss and give you snuggles,
You think of love– in bed up curled
When you close your eyes to go to sleep
You see images of faces smiling
But until you have these dreams nightly, for peace I will keep fighting.
I pray that,
Your dreams are filled with pictures of the type of world I pray for you,
And in due time, your future will be a replica of your dreams,
–my prayer come true.
That through my own actions, you will learn respect and dignity for all,
And the lessons you learn, will help to change the world
–no matter how small.
That you show regard to others, regardless of religion, race or creed
Your steps we will follow, you my child, shall be the light to lead
I pray,
You dream of all nations that contributed to the UN Peace Bell
And one day “Long Live World Peace”
All the nations can yell
That borders can be broken, no need for refuge or displacement
We would be citizens of the world,
–with all war absent
Until then my child, I will continue to hope and pray,
That one day–
Love will grow abundantly, and hatred will cease
And that you will have dreams and a future of peace.