Peace

by Shireen Raza

Why we feel so unsafe today,

Coz of terrors and horrors laying our way,
And all our happiness gone away,
At present. What we all need is
Peace, peace and peace……

Along with the progress of science

Is the killing of our conscience,
We run for money, we run for fame,
Killing and murdering has become a game,
At present, what we need is
Peace, peace, peace….

We, surrounded by problems and worries,

And burden of troubles, each carries,
Power has come over our lives,
Imagine, how hardly a man survives,
At present, what we need is
Peace, peace, peace…

Stanza one:
Why we feel so unsafe today,
Coz of terrors and horrors laying our way,
And all our happiness gone away,
At present. What we all need is
Peace, peace and peace……
Vocabulary:
coz: because
terrors: violent actions which cause fear
horrors: frightening things
At present: now

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Paraphrase:
The writer is talking about the need for peace in the world. She begins the
poem by mentioning the terrible and frightening events that surround us
these days. They make us feel unsafe and deprive us of our happiness. Peace
is what we need.

Alliteration:
Why we feel so unsafe today,
The letter "w" is repeated in "why" and "we"
Rhyme scheme:
aaabc
Stanza two:
Along with the progress of science
Is the killing of our conscience,
We run for money, we run for fame,
Killing and murdering has become a game,
At present, what we need is
Peace, peace, peace….

Vocabulary:
Progress: Improvement; becoming better and more advanced.
conscience: the part of a person that decides on right and wrong, and makes
that person feel bad or guilty about what she /he has done
Fame: being well known by many people
Paraphrase:
In this stanza the poet says that even though science has made things better,
the morality of our actions has disappeared. People want money and fame.

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 Meanwhile, death and murder have become so common that they are
practiced on a large scale. Peace is what we all need.
Personification:
The killing of our conscience
The human conscience is not an actual physical thing, and therefore it cannot
be killed.
Metaphor:
Killing and murdering has become a game,
"Killing" and " murdering" are now easily done as a game.
Stanza three:

We, surrounded by problems and worries,

And burden of troubles, each carries,
Power has come over our lives,
Imagine, how hardly a man survives,
At present, what we need is
Peace, peace, peace…

Vocabulary:
burden: a difficult thing that you have to deal with or worry about
survive: to live through something dangerous or difficult
Paraphrase:
Here the poet talks about the many difficulties we face today. There is a
"power" of problems, worries and troubles that it hard for many people to
even survive peacefully. Problems, troubles and unpleasant events have
made life very difficult, and therefore peace has become necessary for all of
us.

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Alliteration:
Imagine, how hardly a man survives,
The letter "h" is repeated in "how" and "hardly".
Personification:
And burden of troubles, each carries,
One can only carry physical things not abstract ones.
Rhyme scheme:
ffggbc
Questions:
1. Do you agree or disagree with Raza's idea that the world is filled with
"horrors" and "terrors" these days? Explain your answer.
2. In stanza two, the poet writes first about the good things that have been
made by science, and then says that the human conscience is being
killed. Why do you think she puts these two ideas next to each other?
Why does she mention progress in science, and then immediately
mention the killing of the conscience, which lead to murder and feeling
like killing is a game?
3. Many people feel that their burdens are too much to deal with. They feel
afraid of the dangers of the world, and they are unhappy because of
money or work. Write your own poem about these ideas. Try to offer a
solution. Think of ways that people can survive their difficult times.

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