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The Third Way

Two ways
Polarized
Insist
That we chose
One side
Or the other

Two ways
Claim
That the truth
And God
Are on
Their side

Two ways
Accuse
The other
Of being
Absolute
Evil

Two ways
Are willing
To kill
Each other's
Smallest
Children

Two ways
Invite
All of us
To feel anger
And become
Hate

Surely
All beliefs
Meet
At the highest
Place
They aspire to

Surely
The goal
Of all our striving
And all our struggling
Is a place of fulfillment
And peace

Surely
We all
Can join together
To clear a space
For all sides to see
Another way

A third way
Reminds us
That we
Are all
Of one flesh
And one spirit

A third way
Speaks to
A place inside
Where
The Creative Principle
Resides

A third way
Offers us
A way out
From the dilemma
That is placed
In our path

Whatever we believe
We can choose
To take
The highest ground
That is the apex
Of our belief

Whatever side
We find ourselves on
We can choose
Not to take sides
But to take
the other path

We have the power
To end the war
And change the world
But we must decide
To take
The third way

Authors Bio:

Jim Bush is a 67 year old, Vietnam-era veteran, currently living in Texas. He was raised in a military family. His father received the Silver Star for directing troops while under air attack at Clark Field in the Phillipines, survived the Bataan Death March, and spent three and a half years in a Japanese POW camp. He also received the Purple Heart for wounds received while a  POW. Jim served as an army photographer in Okinawa and Korea. In 1987 he traveled to the war zones of Nicaragua with a veteran's group dedicated to stopping the Contra War.