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peace

on this International Day of Peace, dedicated to the ending of war and violence, and resonant with the yogic principle of ahimsa – non-harming – i have chosen this poem, written by teenager Mohamed Assaf, who’s grief for his homeland of Syria he expresses so eloquently.

I Have Divided My Heart,

and half of it is still in Syria.
When the sun shines in Syria
the warmth flowers in my cheek.

And when the sun sets there
my heart remembers shadows
and the closing of flowers.

taken from the collection England: Poems from a School

the picture today, is of jasmine, the national flower of Syria.