Quaker Meeting
The door to the garden is open
a blackbird breaks the silence –
and we listen to his ministry
clear notes from the chimney stack.
Someone speaks about the sadness
of women soldiers drawn to war –
how they will carry guns, be trained
in combat to kill –
and still the blackbird trills his song
his curtain calling aria.
It’s not about feminism or equal rights –
its about nurture …
Gathered in stillness, our thoughts turn
to women who will learn to murder.