We live in a world of violence

Violence, violence everywhere

There is violence in the word itself

It lies in the way the word explodes out of your mouth

Vowels and consonants crashing into each other

Like waves on a shore, colliding and climbing over each other

Racing to get to the shore first

But is the violent nature of the waves so bad?

Many are comforted by the sounds of the waves

As many are comforted in the blow of someone’s fist

There is a certain violence in the way lips collide in a fit of desperation and passion

Mashing up against each other and shoving the air out of the way

There is a certain violence in the way children run through a field of flowers

Leaving a path of distraught petals and tossed up soil as their laughter cuts through the air

There is even a certain violence in the way a baby smiles

Their innocence piercing straight through the hearts of everyone around them

We are all violent in nature

Ripping flowers from their stems

Smothering our lovers with our arms in an embrace

Maiming a blank canvas with color

Hanging Christmas lights by the skin of their neck

I think we can all agree that there is a certain beauty in violence

A certain beauty that slaughters us all, that hacks us with its intensity

So yes, we live in a world of violence

But there is nothing more beautiful than the world we live in