Peace Please

I love cuddling

The word cuddle captures

The sound of bodily boundaries merging in affectionate intimacy

Children love cuddling too

I have an aversion to flags

Red flags curdle the cuddling

National flags

Set us apart

We become letters of the alphabet scattered across the globe

Words reassemble into swords

Rifles

In the hands of unconscious minds

Shooting indiscriminately

In the name of what, of whom?

Shooting at children screaming to be cuddled

How can we stand by and do nothing?

Let's raise the white flag of peace