This season
tucks itself in
a darker colder night
the plant heads droop
seeds drop
the dying decaying world
all around
a natural process
knowing seeds
will lie dormant
and sprout
with spring rains
sunshine
so death is a part
of cycle
of season
and life too
in time
we all reach that end
just as surely as we have
been born
long life
lived well
loving
kindness
memories
celebrate
the
life
accepting these deaths
as part of life
but other deaths
come on waves
of hate
machine guns fired
into schools
into places of worship
on Saturday mornings
music fests
kibbutz with apples ripe
on trees
horrific barbaric
the shouts in praise
of a death
so cruel
to life
left lost confused
asking questions
of the sky
why
what say the god both sides
worship
of this violence, cruelty
pain and suffering
this death
and the ones dying now
of bombs in Gaza
out of time
too soon
not natural
the hands of other men
when will we see
the similarities
that bind
beyond
the disagreements
that separate
both sides
have some blame
but in the end
only death
wins
taking souls
too soon
so young
peace worker gone
whose memory does not
want to be used
to justify more death
this death
is out of place
is not a part
of life
and cycles
we must
resist
complacency
acceptance
and work
stand up
cry
and grieve
and pray for peace
for the leaves
fall from the trees
flowers die
bend their heads
heavy with seed
the death of seasons
of cycles
of lives well lived
is not
the death of brutal
terrorists
machine guns
pointed at innocents
bombs
when will we learn the difference
accept the one
and prevent the other
by seeing
humanity
beauty
life
in all human faces
no matter our color, creed, belief
still
death and grief
hits hardest
for those
who die before
their time
of death
and dying.