Peace is not the absence of noise

Peace is not the absence of noise
Although I know that Conflict is a cacophony
a collective chorus of countless calls
each trying to shout over the other
and clashing in the echoing chaos

Peace is not the absence of noise
Humanity was not meant to be silent
at least, not continuously so
although suppression is claimed
to be peace by some

Peace is not the absence of noise
Peace is the presence of harmonies
of my voice adding to yours which adds to theirs
and together creating music
we could never make alone

Peace is not one person living alone
but humanity living together
the tune is fragile
but it is beautiful
and worth the effort

The monkey who didn't want to climb trees and that's ok

It seems clear to me
That monkeys climb trees

They climb the big
They climb the small
Most monkeys I've met
Will climb them all

Dan was not most monkeys
And that's ok
You see Dan was odd
In how he liked to spend each day

More than anything else
Dan liked to draw
With a rough wooden brush
Held in his paw

He liked to look at trees
The root branch and bark
But rather than climb it
Dan turned trees into art

But Dan thought he was meant to climb
So Dan hid his art and felt shame
They'll never find out he decided
Or Daniel P. Monkey isn't my name!

And Daniel P. Monkey was his name
So he had complete and full faith
When he talked to his friends
That his secret was safe

But it is rarely a good thing
To hide who you are
It turns you twisted inside
Like the pipes in a car

As he climbed with his friends
He pretended things were fine
But his friends were good friends
Who cared for his mind

So one day they hid
In a very, very leafy bush
And they saw their friend Daniel
Pick up his brush

And though their feet stayed still
Their jaws hit the floor
They saw Daniel paint one tree
Then paint some more

Finally, they cracked
They leapt to where Daniel stood
They hugged and adored him
Like only friends could

They told him Daniel P. Monkey!
This art is so good!
Why did you not tell us?
We would've cheered you! We would!

And Daniel told them
Of his love for his art
And how scared he had been
To follow his heart

He told them how great they were
When they climbed all those trees
But how climbing so high
Made him weak at the knees

His friends, they smiled
We have our talents, you have yours
No amount of climbing trees
Could make your art come from our paws

Let's celebrate together! they said
And celebrate they did
A very grand party was held
For every adult and kid

Daniel drew more and more
The best that he could
His friends hung the paintings up
On every spare piece of wood

They climber higher than Daniel dared
Until in every inch all around
Paintings were hung
From the sky to the ground

Together they made
The most fantastic of scenes you every could see
And not a single soul cared
That Daniel P. Monkey did not want to climb trees

Not all trees were meant for fire

In the early years of humanity
We learned to burn trees for fuel
We realised the power that lay within fire
Just like we learned to harness the mule

We used the heat to cook our food
And did not give a second thought
We became rulers, lords of this land
As the lessons of wood were taught

So we burned and we burned
We used fuel to fulfill our desire
And slowly, too slowly, we had to learn
Not all trees were meant for our fire

Some trees are meant to provide shade on hot days
Some trees are homes for creatures big and small
Some hold the ground to stop floods in towns
Trees do so much for us all

What is happening, finally, is we are learning our place
That trees are more than just long sticks and tools
They provide beauty and oxygen and, if we can save them yet
They may just help keep the planet cool

Humans are in the world, not above it
It's time to behave honestly
All it requires is to act with restraint
And not burn every last tree

He leant back on his chair

He leant back on his chair, and time stood still
There'd be time in the future for adventure and thrill

Right now, things are at rest
No time to worry or prepare for a test
No worrying about what the future might bring
There was no hierarchy, no peasant or king
Just the moment that had always been there
During the exhale of breath as it mixes with the air
Before the eyes open from a well earned blink
It's like, well, what's the opposite of being on the brink?
Instead being in a place so steady nothing can knock you down
The smallest of smiles and not a trace of frown

A self-contained moment to enjoy but not keep
As he leant back on his chair, and sunk in deep