For Jack

Beto ‘Riginale

One sunny day a tall, lithe man 
slowly climbed the steps.
Some saw him as the bringer of peace
others as the new beacon of understanding.
But he was simply a man
by birth an American
by nature Irish.
He plodded forward
hampered by the pain in his back
and more so, by the pain in his heart.
The crowd cried out for his help
to bring peace and love and kindness
to their world of war and hatred and anger.
Bent over the microphones
he spoke of that world they so much desired
but he could not give them.
For he knew that world could only
be found in their hearts.
For each to find
to nourish and grow
until it existed, powerfully
in the hearts of all.

Beto ‘Riginale
March 15, 2019

But peace does not rest in charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. And if it is cast out there, then no act, no pact, no treaty, no organization can hope to preserve it without the support and the wholehearted commitment of all people. So let us not rest all our hopes on parchment and on paper; let us strive to build peace, a desire for peace, a willingness to work for peace, in the hearts and minds of all our people. I believe that we can. I believe the problems of human destiny are not beyond the reach of human beings.

JFK

ADDRESS BEFORE THE 18TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS, SEPTEMBER 20, 1963