She’d been sitting in her chair,
his picture in her lap.
Startled!—she awoke!
Guess she’d had a little nap!

She’d dreamed that he was near—
tho she couldn’t see him clear.
But she felt his love—so dear—such a joy—
that loving, laughing little boy—
all grown up now—a fine young man.

“Grammy”

She thought she heard him call her name.

“Sonny?”

Why, she didn’t know, but she remembered the game,
a little game they’d played when he was young,
and a silly little song they’d laughed together as they’d sung.

Brightly she began—

“Oh, where are you going, Sonny Boy, Sonny Boy?
Oh, where are you going, my dear Sonny?”

She thought she heard a sigh,
and then a soft reply—
“Grammy—I am going to Iraq
and I fear I won’t be back.
That’s where I am going, my dear Grammy.”

Hesitantly, she continued—

“Oh, where have you been Sonny Boy, Sonny Boy?
Oh, where have you been, my dear Sonny?”

She strained to hear another soft rely—
“Grammy, I have been to hell and back.
I was wounded in Iraq.
I am so sick of the killing, my dear Grammy.”

Reluctantly with pounding heart, she asked,

“Oh, where are you now, Sonny Boy, Sonny Boy?
Oh, where are you now, my dear Sonny?”

A pause—then so softly she almost couldn’t hear—
“I am with the angels now, Grammy dear, Grammy dear.
I am with the angels now, my dear Grammy.
Pray for peace soon in Iraq,
Don’t cry for me, for I’m never going back.
I no longer can go back—
I no longer can be sent back—
to the killing in Iraq.
Can’t be—
Sent back—
Killing—
Iraq.”

Her tears began to fall.
She knew she’d get a call.
Her dear Sonny Boy was never coming back.
He’d died far away—in the killing in Iraq.

Written for the International Day of Peace Program
presented at the Alamogordo Public Library
on September 22, 2007

© Nola Jones: all rights reserved

“I cannot tell you with what weapons mankind would fight WW3, but I can assure you that WW4 would be fought with sticks and stones.”

~ Albert Einstein

There is currently a bill before the U.S. House of Representatives to establish a United States Department of Peace. This historic measure will augment our current problem-solving options, providing practical, nonviolent solutions to the problems of domestic and international conflict.

The legislation will pass from bill to law under one condition: that a wave of citizen interest rise up from the American people and make itself heard in the halls of Congress.

During the 20th Century, over 100 million people lost their lives to war — most of whom were non-combatants. Now, at the dawn of the 21st century, the extent and current speed of nuclear proliferation makes the achievement of non-violent alternatives to war the most urgent need of the human race.

From the growing rate of domestic incarceration to increasing problems of international violence, the United States has no more serious problem in our midst than the problem of violence itself. Prison-building is our largest urban industry, and we spend over 400 billion dollars a year on military-related expenditures. Yet there is within the workings of the U.S. government, no platform from which to seriously wage peace. We place no institutional heft behind an effort to address the causal issues of violence, diminishing its psychological force before it erupts into material conflict. From child abuse to genocide, from the murder of one to the slaughter of thousands, it is increasingly senseless to merely wait until violence has erupted before addressing the deeper well from which it springs.

The problem of violence is a many layered one, and its solution will be, as well. While no one action — governmental or otherwise — will provide a single solution to such an entrenched and deeply rooted problem, we must treat the problem itself as an all-systems breakdown requiring an all-systems response.

The campaign to establish a U.S. Department of Peace is only one aspect of a fundamental response to the problem of violence, but it is critical. It represents an important collective effort, as American citizens, to do everything we possibly can to save the world for our children’s children.

Throughout America, there are countless peace-builders and peace-building projects. Those skilled in ameliorating the effects of violence – from conflict resolution experts to nonviolent communicators – have proven their effectiveness at treating root causes of violence. Peace is more than the absence of war; it is a positive state of being predicated on the presence of a peaceful heart. The mission of the Peace Alliance is to move this realization from the margins of our political dialogue to its rightful, central place within our national understanding. The humanitarian impulse to foster brotherhood and justice is not just an utopian ideal; it is an issue critical to our national security.

Domestically, the Department of Peace will develop policies and allocate resources to effectively reduce the levels of domestic and gang violence, child abuse, and various other forms of societal discord. Internationally, the Department will advise the President and Congress on the most sophisticated ideas and techniques regarding peace-creation among nations.

The Peace Alliance educates and inspires thousands throughout the country with the knowledge, skill and enthusiasm to become powerful citizen activists on behalf of the Department of Peace legislation. Our campaign has citizen organizers working in all 50 states. Local activists are mobilizing a mighty wave of momentum by working with their members of congress, writing editorials, doing local radio and TV interviews, organizing local talks and trainings, getting city council endorsements, visiting with Police Chiefs, Fire Chiefs, Military Officials, Prison Officials, Directors of Abuse Shelters, School Boards, etc. to share and discuss how a Department of Peace would benefit their community.