The Chinese say "he’ping" peace written 和平
while the Koreans write 평화
and say peace "hwapyong" or "hwapyeong"
평 like the Chinese character 平
means flat or whole
peace like a flat calm lake
or a wide easy road
화 like the Chinese character 和 means harmonize
but what really does peace mean in Korea
Can President Trump and Kim Jong Un end the Korean War
with a peace declaration
does not make a peace treaty
do China and other parties have a say
in 1953 an armistice was signed
and fire ceased but no diplomatic treaty followed
ending the conflict officially
attempts were made in Geneva
North Korea, the United States and South Korea could not agree
and so for 65 years a cease-fire stands
Will they declare peace
simply a statement ending hostile relations
between belligerent parties
political nonbinding and symbolic
creating goodwill between only two
North Korea and the United States
leaving open questions
should Americans withdraw from South Korea
without a multilateral peace treaty
a legal and formal end to the Korean War
with options available if someone doesn't comply
© Kimberly Burnham
Kimberly is a brain health expert and poet. Kimberly's 2019 project is world peace / inner peace with her recently published book, Awakenings: Peace Dictionary, Language and the Mind, a Daily Brain Health Program.
