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When the World Was Quiet

Nolo Segundo

by Nolo Segundo



When the world was quiet

And life moved with grace,

Time measured by seasons

And years instead of minutes,

And people saw the world as

Close by, with foreign lands

Far away, another universe,

Not quite real, not quite true,

Then the mind could rest,

Enjoy the ‘simple’ pleasures

Of family and friends and old

Neighbors to share old tales.

 

Life was taken slowly then,

No faster than a carriage ride,

And evil belonged mainly in

Crusty books of ancient times.

There was no rancor, no bile

Stirred by relentlessly biting

News that chews at the soul

Like the devil’s own pitchfork.

There was no magic screen

To capture you slave-like and

Bound for barren lands filled

With children starving, babes

Dying before they walked, and

War and Disease and Death all

Coming through an open door.

 

Once we trod the earth unshod

And breathed the virgin air and

Sang love songs to God in heaven

And saw others as brothers, some

Lost, others newly found, all to be

Welcome, all to be heard and seen.

Now we see the other as less than,

As missing our noble sweetness,

Sure we have found the truth, and

Those who do not march alongside

Must march against us—we need

No god to be on our side to know

What must be done for justice….

 

A poet like Emily could write in

Peace though a terrible slaughter 

Raged far away, its madness slow

To reach her ears, giving her time

To let it sweep her untamed soul.

But she could not breathe today,

Her spirit smothered by the loss

Of distance and time and mercy.

 

When the world was quiet

And life moved with grace,

We had a sense of ourselves,

Our footing in this world,

Our dreams of the next….

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We are a Chile-based literary review founded in November 2024. We aim to publish articles and reviews of books, films, videogames, museum exhibits, as well as creative essays, short stories, poetry, art, and photography in both English and Spanish. We believe that literature and art are a global language that unite its speakers and our enjoyment of it can be shared in ways that are fun, thoughtful, and full of innovation. We invite you and everyone to who loves art and books or who just love interesting things to contribute to our literary review!

You can contact us at ultramarineliteraryreview@gmail.com.

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