Of all the bitterness and waste of war.
Our silence tries but fails to make a semblance
Of that lost peace they thought worth fighting for.
~ from Silence (a sonnet for Rembrance Day) ~ Malcolm Guite
I struggle with Remembrance Day. I think because of the sentiments in Guite’s sonnet. Every year, we stand silent for two minutes, and, we remember. The trouble for me is that many of us immediately forget. We go about our day, wearing our poppies, and continue to fight our private wars, without giving thought to peace.
Do we extend an effort to understand that sometimes where we shop, what we eat, what we wear, how we commute means that somewhere someone in our world may not have peace? Do we know that Remembrance Day is about now, not then? That countries beyond the obvious are still at war and every day thousands of women and children in particular are victims. I always feel unsettled on this day. I wish there was more that I could do personally. I despise the fact that war seems glorified on this day. There is nothing glamourous about what happened in any of the wars of old. All we need to do is watch the people who mourn for their dead children and spouses.
Today I pray that we would remember peace is essential in our world. May each of us understand the waste of war and work todays its end in our world so that no one else dies for a lost peace. Don’t forget. Peace to those who mourn. Peace to those who suffer the aftermath effects of war. Peace to those who gave their lives for our freedom.
Peace,
Suzanne
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