Silence: A Sonnet for Remembrance Day
by Malcolm Guite*
November pierces with its bleak remembrance
Of all the bitterness and waste of war.
Our silence tries but fails to make a semblance
Of that lost peace they thought worth fighting for.
Our silence seethes instead with wraiths and whispers,
And all the restless rumour of new wars,
The shells are falling all around our vespers,
No moment is unscarred, there is no pause,
In every instant bloodied innocence
Falls to the weary earth, and whilst we stand
Quiescence ends again in acquiescence,
And Abel’s blood still cries in every land
One silence only might redeem that blood
Only the silence of a dying God.
Of that lost peace they thought worth fighting for.
Our silence seethes instead with wraiths and whispers,
And all the restless rumour of new wars,
The shells are falling all around our vespers,
No moment is unscarred, there is no pause,
In every instant bloodied innocence
Falls to the weary earth, and whilst we stand
Quiescence ends again in acquiescence,
And Abel’s blood still cries in every land
One silence only might redeem that blood
Only the silence of a dying God.
A young, dedicated clinical aide who works in my unit at the hospital returned this week after a leave of absence. I told them they had been missed and inquired how they were doing.
"Not very well", they answered sadly. "I cannot handle all the news of war and the images of death online."
I recognized a very empathetic person who was overwhelmed by the news cycle and I have ongoing concern about the burden they carry. I reminded them that each generation has lived in a time of war and social upheaval of some kind. My grandparents were young adults during World War 1 and the Great Depression. My parents were young teenagers at the end of World War 2. I grew up during the Cold War, and remember the Vietnam War and at least three wars in the Middle East in the 1960s and 1970s. There have been many other conflicts in the last three or four decades. While we remember those who died in military service today, we also see that war does not bring lasting peace.
My coworker is overwhelmed with the amount of bad news that is available. Previous generations did not have to deal with the 24-hour news cycle we have on the internet and cable news programming. There is much good in the world too but it does not make headlines. We must not abandon hope for the future and must work to become peacemakers in this world. We need to show younger generations how to make bridges between different groups of people and to be resilient in the face of adversity.
*Follow this link https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/blog/ to Malcolm Guite's website and blog
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