Lynne Bronstein

What if 

What if all the guns were fired

and only the proverbial flowers of peace

emerged from the barrels?

What if all the weapons were de-weaponized

and the curse words were only to laugh at

and each hostile thought

was only met with a feeling of regret

and even the most justifiable rage

only left a lipstick kiss mark on the wall

where a fist had punched.

what if all the hate within us

simply evaporated

and we couldn't remember why we hated.

what if every time we felt angry

we took it out

in the form of a poem

or a painting

or a song

or a delicious cake

or the anger crumbled

and tears fell instead.

what if we just cried and howled

and reached out with our arms

and someone else reached back.