Let me burn

I can’t force peace on the world…but here is what I CAN do…

In a world that feels like it’s unraveling—where flags become justifications, and strategy is valued more than mercy—I find myself aching. I’m not naive. I know war has always been part of our species. I know it will likely continue long after me. But that doesn’t mean I have to accept it as inevitable or noble.

War, to me, is the worst use of our imagination. We could have dreamed up so many better things.  I cannot figure out for the life of me how so excited so many people get when “our side” starts sending rockets across borders to land on someone else’s land.  Again, I war is part of our story here - but it shouldn’t be something we celebrate and cheerlead.  It should be something that breaks our hearts.  

So when I feel powerless in the face of missiles and headlines, I remind myself that while I may not be able to end conflict, I can refuse to let it harden me. I can choose to be a candle. I can choose to burn with peace.

This poem is my prayer for that choice. 

---

I can’t make the
world be peaceful 

I can’t stall tanks
from roaring down roads

I can’t prevent children 
from having to hide in bunkers 

I can’t keep a madman from 
creating heartbreaking headlines 

I can’t convince the news to 
stop turning war into a video game

I can’t silence the sound of bombs 
tearing neighborhoods apart

I can’t turn a guided missile 
into a bouquet of flowers

I can’t make a warmonger 
have an ounce of empathy 

I can’t convince diplomats  
to quit playing truth or dare

I can’t deflect a sniper’s bullet
from turning a wife into a widow

I can’t stave off a schoolyard being
reduced to ash and rubble 

I can’t do any of that 

   the only thing I can do
is love the next person I encounter
without any conditions or strings 

to love my neighbor 
so fearlessly that
it starts a ripple 
that stretches from
one horizon to the next 

I can’t force peace
on the world 

but I can become a force
of peace in the world 

because 

sometimes all it takes
is a single lit candle 
in the darkness 

to start a movement 

oh, Spirit,

let me be a candle 
of comfort in this world 

let me burn with peace

~ john roedel 

                         (love is bigger than war)

---

My new book is out!

✨ From the poet who accidentally became a memoirist, And Now A Word From Your Ghosts… is a collection of true stories, half-remembered moments, and emotional detours that will make you laugh, wince, and maybe call your dad. It’s part confessional, part comedy, and part séance—because apparently, my ghosts had something to say.