Thomas James Segel

For The Dream of Peace

The sky so blue, the sea so green

A more lovely sight is seldom seen

The wind blows and carries my mind away

To a distant land, and another day

I see a village by the shore

A thatch-roofed hut and an open door

The nets are strung on a beam outside

They are being sewn with strings of hide

I can hear the pounding drum

Calling in each and every one

From their work and from their play

For this was a special day

The yield of the sea had been kind

There was food for all to find

And offered for a special feast

To ride the wind, to tame the beast

All who came did dance and eat

Some sat down by the Master’s feet

To listen to the words he spoke

Within their hearts the silence broke

I am here to reveal to you

The causes of the things you do

To plant within your heart a seed

To fill even your deepest need

To share the mystery of love

To show you dreams from up above

To lift your heart and make you whole

To begin the stirring of your soul

Be still and know the silence now

A small still voice will tell you how

To kindle the fire that dwells within

Which is the place you must begin

In silence your soul will speak

Of the things that men do seek

Softly spoken and seldom heard

Comes the most enchanting word

I am who you are

Together we are a rising star

To shine above for all to see

To find who they must really be

The journey of your soul must start

In the essence of your heart

For it is that precious seed

That overpowers hate and greed

To build anew compassion’s fire

To make love your heart’s desire

Let your heart direct your course

Yielding to its tender force

Standing naked at love’s door

Cross the threshold with nothing more

For only love may enter in

Then from the heart flow out again

Filled with joy and filled with pain

The journey of your soul remains

A mystery in your conscious mind

Bound by space, locked in time

In love is found the key

To open up eternity

For love cannot be bound

Within it is the freedom found

To lift your heart and make you high

The answer to the question why

And to love what would you give

For it allows your soul to live

Asking nothing in return

Hoping every heart will learn

Love needs nothing but itself to grow

Once the heart is full, it overflows

To spill out across the skies

To open up the blinded eyes

To remind the heart of man

So that you may take a stand

And do all that must be done

For you are the only one

Who can make the change today

Within your heart you’ll find the way

Again he lifted high his voice

And said that peace must be the choice

Too long has war been on the land

Too long has man been killing man

What causes the killing need

That comes from fear and comes from greed

You have forgotten where you come from

The journey back is hard for some

To hear the calling of your soul

To remember the things you know

That have always been a part of you

It is part of the job at hand

To raise the consciousness of man

To stop the war that wages within

The only place you can begin

When peace is found one heart at a time

The nations will follow down the line

For when you realize you are your brother

You can no longer hurt one another

Peace will come from the inside out

Then no longer will you shout

Filled with hurt and filled with pain

For only peace will then remain

In passing time, all wounds will heal

And you will know then what is real

Peace may shape the destiny of man

Then once again rule the land

But it is you who must choose

Will humanity win or lose

The changes must start today

Within your heart you’ll find the way

The words I speak draw you near

It is the truth you long to hear

Truth is a gem among the coal

It is the food that feeds the soul

Forged again in passion’s fire

And becomes the soul’s desire

It is in truth that love can grow

It is in truth that peace we know

It is life and love you give

When within the truth you live

In truth awakening begins

In truth the light may enter in

May the light fill your soul

May the higher calling be your goal

By now many people had come

Brought by the pounding of the drum

To the Master they pressed near

He climbed a hill so all could hear

As he lifted up his hand

A stillness fell upon the land

You have all become my heart

More words to you will I impart

The deepness of the truth you feel

Bears witness to what is real

And what you know within your soul

Shows forth in the brightness of your being

When enlightened is the path you walk

Joy is found in the way you talk

What causes this enlightening

From what does this joy now spring

Again the trail will lead within

To the place you must begin

For only in silent thought

Is the power of creation caught

From there it is the light does flow

And in your heart you will know

The light is meant to share with all

And any who will hear the call

Knowing when the call is heard

That you will receive the word

The word is love, peace, truth, and joy

Found in the heart of girl and boy

As my gaze falls upon the sea

I know this joy is meant to be

Now others pay while I go free

For the doors are open to me

I behold the wonder of it all

And listen to my spirit call

In recent dreams and ancient time

Live eternal thoughts sublime

In the shadowed light I seek

The meaning of the words I speak

Found in the heart of all

Indwelling in the trees so tall

Heard in the muted breath

Intertwined in life and death

Reaching for the faded thing

Listening to freedom ring

And sound aloud for all mankind

Marking well for all who find

That simple peace within your heart

Again the place that you must start

So, beloved, take the chance

Join me in the sacred dance

Rise and let your spirit fly

Racing through the windswept sky

That you may touch the silver strand

Tied to us by God’s own hand

As the sun sets upon the shore

The knowledge of you heart will soar

Awake again in mystic dreams

The knowledge of eternal things

Found at the point of peace within

Again the place you must begin

And the truth that you do find

Must be shared with human kind

We stand in the temple of the sun

With no place for us to run

We must be at peace in our home

We will never be alone

All creation reaches out

It shows us without a doubt

That we will never cease to be

It is the same for you and me

Eternal dreams are now

In your heart you know how

Though we stand on the line

The wind blows the sand of time

From here and now to evermore

So together let’s step through the door

To make the world a better place

At this point in time and space

When you realize that we are one

The people, the planet, and the setting sun

Be then mindful of what you do

For what touches one touches all of you

To the Earth you must be kind

Learning well from what you find

In each treasure you behold

Is a sacred story told

Of awesome wonder, bold delight

The precious gift, the clearest sight

Is there for any who will see

And in the knowing you will be

Darkness settled on the land

In the torch light he did stand

The people hungered for his words

And cherished the treasures heard

Old and young, big and small

Silence was upon them all

The Master called a young one near

Then said to all that would hear

If you could look through this one’s eyes

You would see the truth and hear the cries

Of all of those yet to come

You would do what must be done

Your thoughts are of yesterday

But tomorrow’s child will lead the way

And follow him you must

If in love and peace you trust

We stand upon common ground

Together our lives are bound

By the one within us all

Hoping we will hear the call

Whispered from that timeless place

Found upon the child’s face

In the touch of a stranger’s hand

Compassion in a foreign land

The song that causes the heart to sing

The tenderness that love does bring

Helping the helpless child

The gentle spirit, meek and mild

Let this moment fill your soul

Listen to the things you know

Take another by the hand

Help someone to understand

What has been given, give away

Let us start a brand new day

It is you I treasure in my heart

What draws you here marks the start

Of changes in your world today

Within your heart you’ll find the way

The moon had risen in the sky

The people stood with a watchful eye

One said Master, tell us more

How may we pass through the door?

With his words he firmly said

From the darkness you were led

Now for you the time has come

To share the light with everyone

Let your highest thought be love

The kind that flows from up above

Let your clearest word be spoken

Healing hearts that have been broken

Let every heart beat as one

Under the temple of the sun

Let everyone become his brother

In the heart of God there is no other

Let compassion fill your soul

Teaching well from what you know

Let peace be the path you walk

Showing forth in how you talk

Let your truth light the way

Breaking darkness of the day

Let everyone do his part

To heal our planet from the heart

Let everyone hear the voice within

Which will direct you home again

It was now the second day of the feast

Of riding the wind, of taming the beast

The people watched for the Master to come

While they danced to the sound of the drum

He was the treasure of their land

For he helped them to understand

Though alone, he was never apart

For he was held dearly in each one’s heart

He arrived on the fourth hour of the day

All of the people made clear his way

For him was made a special seat

Built with love to the flow of the beat

In their midst he sat above them all

With outstretched arms, let his spirit call

To any there that would hear

So he could once again draw them near

As silence fell upon that place

He began to speak with heavenly grace

My eyes have seen the love you hold

From my heart another story told

In dreams of this boundless sea

Timeless visions come to me

We are but a vapor in the wind

But our soul continues without end

So that when a life falls away

It is to begin a brand new day

The sorrow belongs to those left behind

The departed enters a joy hard to find

So let your sorrow be brief

May you feel joy and not grief

The love that has passed between is forever

Deep within your heart you will never

Have to say good-bye, but farewell

In another place, another time

Locked inside an ancient rhyme

You shall see each other again

It is only the soul that knows when

I feel the Earth breathe with the surge of the sea

I am filled with the power it gives to me

I once again dwell in that timeless place

I feel the love of the gentle race

That lives within every heart

Again the place that you must start

The message I give is clear

He who has ears, let him hear

He who has eyes, let him see

The wondrous glory meant to be

Thus were the words he spoke at the feast

It was he who rode the wind and tamed the beast

For all who heard let their spirits fly

On mystic winds of eternal sky

Within each heart the beast was tamed

So no one would ever be the blame

And so it is that this story is told

To any who will hear and take hold

Of the truth contained within

Again the place you must begin