Silence...

Death of a Quiet Man

All those violent ends
Documented in my living years:
Gandhi, Kennedy, Luther King
Indira and her son; Aung San,
Benazir and her father
All standing up to lead.

Now a quiet Karen, exiled
From his home in Burma.
Padoh Mahn Sha, a man of peace
Stood up to lead.
A solitary calling, his wife dead
His children far away.

Sharing food with him, and hope
That precious spark, and talk,
Makes this violent end
So different from all the others.
Shot to death alone
Sitting in the sun on his verandah.

Weep and remember Padoh Mahn Sha
Weep and remember Burma,
And then stand up to lead
Against the assassins
Against the dictators,
For peace, for peace, for peace.

Feb 2008, Juliet Rogers