Portside

Poem For
My Country

By Beau Beausoleil

I want
a day
when
every
gun
refuses
to
fire

I want
a day
when
every
hateful
word
stings
the tongue
of its
speaker

I want
a day
of
listening
only
to the
under/sky
of dreaming
earth

I want
a first day
to hold
our country
to its
promises

I want
a day
that does
not end
in grief