The Nature Has Spoken Peace Poem by Richmon Rey Jundis

In front of many ears, I spoke,
Shivering, my hands were shaking,
My voice was cracking,
For a whisper behind my ears had spoken:
"The people in front of you are not listening,
They just hear you; they don't believe you! "
I shook off the thought and continued to speak,
Though afraid I was.

I noticed myself slowly deteriorating,
Returning to the child I was before, heard but never listened to.
I noticed myself slowly retreating
To the dark and silent abyss of doubts and fear,
Doubting if they truly listened to the truth I brought,
Fearing that they are just listening attentively,
Not because they want to know me more, or learn from me,
But to find mistakes and stab me when my presence
Is no longer around their vicinity.

One silent morning, during personal meditation,
I chose to stay under the mahogany tree,
Sat on its bulging roots above the ground,
And in silence, I listened to the tranquil music around me:
The singing of birds, the crowing of cocks,
The hushing of leaves tickled by the wind.
It brought me peace, and for the first time in a long while,
I felt my heart speak.
I listened and understood.
The God of silence and peace heard the anguish of my longing heart
In the face of gentle nature.

I recalled:
True listening must be done in silence and with extra careful consideration
Of how a speaker may feel.
When one tries to explain, yet another scoffs and coughs,
Now I know how a speaker may feel.
When one tries to talk, yet another turns around and rolls their eyes,
Now I know how a speaker may feel.
When one tries to say something but is stopped
Because another insists that what the speaker is saying is not true,
It hurts. It makes my hands shiver. It makes my voice crack.
It makes me choose to remain silent and let them speak
For whatever they want, setting aside
The thoughts my heart longs to shout.

How I wish to bring back the days
When everyone around me felt like this caressing and gentle nature,
Like a channel of peace that invites me to speak more.

Now, I pray that I, too, may become like nature,
A channel of peace to others,
To draw their thoughts out of their crying hearts.
When they harbor hatred, let me listen, even if they hate me,
And bring peace.
Let me listen to those I have injured, that I may ask for pardon,
To those who doubt, that I may help ignite their faith,
To those in despair, that I may give them hope,
To those who are sad, that I may let them feel joy through my presence.
But the only thing I fear is the feeling of needing to be listened to
By those I have listened to.

I pray to the Divine Master,
That I may shiver no more, that my voice may no longer crack
When I speak and feel no one is listening.
May I never seek to be consoled the way I console others,
May I never seek to be understood the way I understand others,
May I never seek to be loved the way I love others.
For it is by giving the chance to be heard to those who cannot listen
That I can truly find peace within and hear what my heart says.
Amen.