Queen of Peace – a poem by Mary McAvoy

Queen of Peace  

          by Mary McAvoy

Her legs bow with the weight of the children of the universe.

She carries the power of the four winds and the rain along with them,
and the sun that grows the food that feeds them.

She alone can part the seas
and her pace is not broken by anything that blocks her path.

For all eternity, she’s trudge through every day –
over, through or around any obstacle –
to bring her children water and whatever morsel the earth
gives up to her through the cracks in its parched soil.

The folds of her clothing hold the dust of every continent
and her eyes, the heartbreak of every human tragedy.

She is too small for such a charge.
But each moment of each day she puts one weary foot before the other
as she has done for all time.

No man or beast has the strength of her frail body.
She is mother.
She is love.
She is the Queen of Peace.

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This poem was inspired by my reaction to a photograph by Joshi Daniel. The photo is titled Weary and was posted February 14, 2014 at Joshi Daniel’s photography website. I posted about the photo yesterday and the day before.