Lara's Poem for Peace I

I feel beautiful water rush over me and fill
Each of my bodily cells with happiness
I have finally realized that I am free

I feel the sun beat against my face
And the soft shadow of pain
Disappear behind yesterday's clouds

Today I only see and feel beauty as it startles me
Every creature amazes me
As if I am seeing it for the first time

Rapture

The world around me is full of colors
Dancing and playing
In a kind of ritualized harmony

I am at one with nature in this moment
Freed from the clutches
Of grief and pain

I see now that this thing called peace
Means being one
One with nature and one with all of humankind

Lara Hall, 19 years old
Hobart, Australia