Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
(1807 - 1882)
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."
This poem was written Dec. 25, 1864, months before the end of The Civil War. Addressing the deep despair that surrounded the heart of every American at that time, it invites us into the heart of Longfellow himself, as Christmases past were times of his own personal tragedies. And yet, despite utter sadness there is also utter, undeniable, hope... "The Wrong shall fail,/the Right prevail,/With peace on earth, good-will to men."
May we look forward with hope as we celebrate this Christmas season and the New Year ahead!
This post first appeared in the Canon City Daily Record.
Photo Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16786.jpg/220px-Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16786.jpg
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