Night Owl Chat – The Narrow Path

Choosing peace is not the coward’s way;
it is, instead, the path of thorns.

Violence is the way of ease;
nothing is more natural than raising

a clenched fist, swinging it,
and delighting as it hits with a crack.

The animal joy of seeing your enemy
laid out beneath you, bloody,

at your mercy, is a joy
as old as the earth, and as deep.

To choose peace is to have your body
scream out in rebellion,

protesting at the unnatural,
debased decision; “Fight” it says,

“Strike, lay him low.” But how much more
courage does it take to suffer,

to fight back not with violence,
but with love? For you do fight;

but not on his terms, not on his field.
You fight with the heft of your heart.

It is the harder jihad, the struggle
within yourself, with your own hatreds,

bigotries, weaknesses. It is
the search for the God within,

the small spark of the divine
hidden within the world’s foulness,

its small voice yearning to burst forth
into a lion’s roar, laying the violent low

with love. Peace is the narrow path
through the valley of death;

fall off it, and all is lost.
Keep it, and the world blooms.

*****

This is your night owl chat.