Finding Peace

I will never find
a lasting peace
outside myself,
in this world.

Right now,
on these streets,
the constant jangle
of people and machines,
the chaos of culture
and technology,
seem to assault me.

But the loudest noise
comes from within me -
a string of commentary,
constantly critiquing
the kind of world
I didn’t ask for.

In this stream
(the flow of my own resistance),
all the sound and bustle
become a torrent,
torturous,
tumultuous,
and I am swept along,
as if against my will.

But there is no torrent,
except in the tumble
of my own thoughts.

Beyond them,
behind them,
there is only silence,
a peace that I may glimpse
when I give up the fight,
and let the world be
as it is.