Call For Return

Wait!!
Hold it right there, I say to you.
Loosen your hand on that scabbard.
Sheath that sword you have drawn.
Vacate the barrels of that gun you hold.
And,
Cleanse your mind and heart
Of the hate you’ve polluted it with.

Now lay down all these corruptions
and look beyond,
at that child playing in the street.
At that youth, with his dreams.
At that mother as she watches
Over her children as they play.
And at that maiden,
Who shines with a requited love.
And at those million men and women,
Who each day live,
In the hope of seeing many such days.
Now look in their eyes,
And you will find,
An ocean of love, of joy,
Of life.

Now again I say,
Lay aside your gun and hate,
For they have made a stone of you.
Cast them away and come to us,
For with open hearts and arms,
We welcome the Lost Sheep,
If only the sheep seeks to return…
~Maithili Desai