We’ve heard the clarion calls before
Lest we forget
Martin Luther King Jr. gave his speech
“Beyond Vietnam” a year before
Going to the Biblical Mountain top
On April 4, 1968
Shots heard around the world
Assassinating our prophets
To make them silent for that
Which makes us uncomfortable
Reminding us
That hate will consume us through violence
But it’s not even that, violence vs nonviolence
It has to do with our extinction as a human race
Black Lives Matter filled our streets with protests
That overzealous police indiscriminately target
Blacks and Browns in law and order campaigns
Pointing to a rampant problem of white superiority
And then we saw it
A coup attempted to overthrow the government
Mainly a white mob trying to reverse an election
Violent, forceful, striking Capitol Police with flags
Unmasked, they spread Pandemic-like terrorism
The prophet called for a new set of values
Actually a revisiting of peace, justice and ecology
Based on truth, honesty and love
Requiring a different atmosphere
Banning nuclear weapons for human survival
This is where ICAN’s treaty comes just in time
To make all nuclear weapons illegal
Agreed upon by an international community
Of nations to create life and forestall death
To breathe in hope and breathe out a future
For our grandchildren and for all human races.
—By Ron Faust (On occasion of a celebration in Kansas City Jan. 22, 2021, to acknowledge a treaty of over 50 nations to ban nuclear weapons)