21/09/2026
WHEN PEACE IS GONE
A Poem for International Day of Peace
When peace is gone,
the night becomes longer,
and a mother's prayer
becomes a little stronger.
When peace is gone,
children stop dreaming of tomorrow;
their little eyes learn fear
before they learn the meaning of sorrow.
When peace is gone,
homes become memories,
streets become scars,
and the sky forgets
how beautiful it is without smoke.
Tell me
what is the value of victory
if a child has lost a home?
What is the meaning of power
when a mother waits alone?
No flag can embrace a grieving heart.
No border can heal a broken family.
No weapon can build a childhood.
No war can teach humanity.
We are born under different flags,
we speak different languages,
we pray in different ways
but when we cry,
our tears speak the same language.
We all need a hand to hold.
We all need a place to belong.
We all want our children
to grow up brave,
not afraid.
Peace is not weakness.
Peace is the courage to forgive
when hatred asks us to fight.
Peace is choosing a conversation
when anger demands a weapon.
Peace is seeing a human being
before seeing a religion,
a nationality,
a color,
or a border.
And peace does not begin
somewhere far away.
It begins
when I choose kindness
instead of cruelty.
It begins
when you choose understanding
instead of hatred.
It begins
when we teach our children
that another person's pain
is not someone else's problem.
So today,
let us not simply say,
We want peace.
Let us become
the reason peace survives.
Let our words build bridges.
Let our hands help the wounded.
Let our hearts forgive.
Let our children inherit books instead of bullets,
schools instead of shelters,
dreams instead of fear.
Because one day,
when our names are forgotten
and our footsteps disappear,
may the world remember only this
We were here.
We loved one another.
We chose humanity.
And we left behind
a little more peace
than we found.
Peace is not a luxury.
Peace is life.
Peace is dignity.
Peace is the future of every child.
On this International Day of Peace,
let us choose peace
not only with our words,
but with our lives.
— Sayd
