Introducing a new series of poems by Julian Matthews. Julian is a writer and Pushcart-nominated poet published in The American Journal of Poetry, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, Borderless Journal, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Dream Catcher Magazine, Live Encounters Magazine, Lothlorien Poetry Journal and The New Verse News, among others. He is a mixed-race minority from Malaysia and lived in Ipoh for seven years. Currently based in Petaling Jaya, he is a media trainer and consultant for senior management of multinationals on Effective Media Relations, Social Media and Crisis Communications. He was formerly a journalist with The Star and Nikkei Business Publications Inc
Link: https://linktr.ee/julianmatthews
By Julian Matthews
That Sunday evening, I briefly encountered Hope and Peace.
I was out for my usual three-mile walk around the park.
“Hope” was in bright yellow font on a t-shirt of a buff young man,
huffing from a workout, on the right side of my path.
“Peace” was in dull white lettering on a faded t-shirt
of an older woman on my left, who looked harried
as if in a rush to get home to prepare dinner.
My journalistic instincts kicked in and I thought of capturing
the moment on camera.
After all, it is not everyday you are confronted by Hope and Peace.
But it was already too late and too obvious.
So I just looked quizzically at one, then the other,
and they each looked quizzically back at me – for staring.
And since they were parallel to each other,
neither knew what the other’s t-shirt bore.
I do not consider myself a spiritual man,
and have grappled with my faith for decades,
but somehow felt lighter today for the coincidence.
A stressed, aging Peace, and a muscular yet tired Hope
came up the road and the universe winked at me.
And I realized, not a thing in this weary-shouldered world
has changed in centuries.
Stubbornly, denying humanity’s fate,
I walked an extra three-mile round.
First published in Live Encounters Poetry & Writing, 16th Anniversary edition, Volume Six
November- December 2025
