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SONNET FOR PEACE by Nannette Schweig Hoffman

Sonnet for Peace


For peace we feel cool water foam the shore,
we watch the circling bird’s relentless soar.
We mimic the giant spider of the sky—
With joy she spins her gilded ray, we try.

For peace the cello sends its voice afar,
Directs each nerve to seek a distant star.
Each string vibrating its rhythmic flow,
Pulsating chords of harps with accents slow.

God gives us the choice to love, the will to live,
The self affirmed to nourish and to give.
To risk with courage many noble deeds,
So that fear of conflict wilts before it breeds.

For peace I need you close, not distant
And your heart a little less resistant,
Together we’ll hear the outrage of injustice cry:
Combat all hatred and raise faith’s banner high!

(August 1969)



Nannette Hoffman: Nannette was a fine artist, teacher and poet, who passed away on December 9, 2010 at the age of 81. She was a native of New York City and had lived in the D.C area for 40 years before moving to Virginia in 2002. Nannette received her B.A from Hofstra University, her M.A in English from Georgetown University, and was a Master Copyist of Fine Art at the National Gallery of Art in D.C. She loved children and had one son, two daughters and four grandchildren. It was Nannette’s passion to inspire others to nourish their creative spirits, and she spent much of her life doing just that. Nannette published two books of poems and drawings with Ellicott Press: The Palette and the Pen (1992) and  The Image and the Leaf (2001). Visit her website here. 

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