The ballet wind sings
songs of peace... songs of love...
as the cat sleeps -- tail curved
around his golden eyes. I am
silent as dawn over the mountains,
soul still as glass of a lake
in the valley surrounded by pine.
The moon's pearl glow closes lids
at midnight where dreams of giant
purple scarves... veils pirouette
amongst our lashes. I wish for
the day when weapons are extinct
save for the leopard... the cougar... the black
panther... the Bengal tier -- sleek
animals that kill only to feed cubs.
And even they, one day, will chew
the cud and be serene as cows.

by Laverne C. Williams
East Elmhurst