"where have all the flowers gone"

"when will we ever
          learn"

sometimes
i wonder

is it possible to
live and
move and
have our
being in this world
without
gossip

can we
really
refuse to
talk
ABOUT
someone else

forsaking this
addiction for
the
sheer
joy of
talking
WITH
them

can we really
find
a new
way to
BE
a family,
a community,
a civil
     ization
on this
planet where
turtles
can sit silently next to
one another
in
a
still
pond

and not devour
one another

trusting the other to
     the shelter of a closet,
          a shell
                    the wracking sobs of humble, naked hunger
                         for direction and guidance

          where only the Divine
               knows the sanctuary of another's heart
                    and "enriches its affections"*...governing it

i asked a
group of
teens
not long ago

which would you
rather
have done

be punched in the stomach
or
talked about behind your back


their answers were
swift
clear
immediate and
passionate...

punch me in the gut
tear out my hair
slap me
     squarely across the face

but please don't
talk about me
behind my back

gossip hurts
everyone

it is the war
we
should protest

it is the
death
to souls
and reputations
we should
hold
vigils for

it is the
assassination of
character...
by insinuation...
that we
should
revolt against

it hurts
the child
the mother
the father
the spouse

it hurts
the celebrity
the president
the peasant
the cheerleader

it hurts
the ceo
the coworker
the neighbor
the girl nextdoor who
     has only gained a little
          weight...not a reputation

it hurts
you

and me

why don't we
use
each invitation to
talk about another person
as
a key in the lock of
one more potential friendship
and
pick up the phone
get in the car
walk across the playground, the church lobby
          the parking lot
the grocery store
the Boardroom
open up a dialogue
a conversation
a car door
a heart
and talk TO someone

stop this violence
     of
          words
stop it
stop it
stop it
before all we have
left
are broken lives
wounded hearts
shattered friendships...each of us
living in isolation

until all we have left
are
the echoes of
shallow laughter
surprised gasps of horror
sideways glances of rebuke
sneers of disgust
lingering in our air
like
a poisonous gas
that will
kill us off slowly
and
leave us wondering
"where have all the flowers gone"
"where have all the children gone"
.....where have all the friendships gone
"gone to..."
where....

"when will we ever learn
     when will we ever learn ..."**




* Mary Baker Eddy
**Peter Seeger

K.