Poster - Peace Blessings

Words: Jack Manno. Design Amy E. Bartell/Syracuse Cultural Workers

May the desert storm subside and a breeze of peace alight on the
ancient and holy sands

May language be purified of military babble and all its
collateral damage

May soldiers party long into the night on word their joyful leaders
have changed their minds

May all the soldiers be gathered at coffee clatches on cool oases
where snapshots of children are shared

May the desert night be bright with stars and huge with silence

May the only desert tank be the frugal camel's wondrous hump

May all the ugly wars and imperial arrogance of the past
be acknowledged and their legacy rejected

May the otters, dolphins, cormorants, dugongs, flamingos,
green turtles and white cheeked terns that ply the mesopotamian seas
be blessed and may their fate forever and always
be valued greater than a president's pride.

-Jack Manno, Syracuse, NY, 1991