Amazing Peace: A
Christmas Poem
By Dr. Maya Angelou
Thunder rumbles in the
mountain passes
And lightning rattles the
eaves of our houses.
Flood waters await us in
our avenues.
Snow falls upon snow,
falls upon snow to avalanche
Over unprotected villages.
The sky slips low and grey
and threatening.
We question ourselves.
What have we done to so
affront nature?
We worry God.
Are you there? Are you
there really?
Does the covenant you made
with us still hold?
Into this climate of fear
and apprehension, Christmas enters,
Streaming lights of joy,
ringing bells of hope
And singing carols of
forgiveness high up in the bright air.
The world is encouraged to
come away from rancor,
Come the way of
friendship.
It is the Glad Season.
Thunder ebbs to silence
and lightning sleeps quietly in the corner.
Flood waters recede into
memory.
Snow becomes a yielding
cushion to aid us
As we make our way to
higher ground.
Hope is born again in the
faces of children
It rides on the shoulders
of our aged as they walk into their sunsets.
Hope spreads around the
earth. Brightening all things,
Even hate which crouches
breeding in dark corridors.
In our joy, we think we
hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft.
Then only half heard.
We listen carefully as it
gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is loud now. It is
louder.
Louder than the explosion
of bombs.
We tremble at the sound.
We are thrilled by its presence.
It is what we have
hungered for.
Not just the absence of
war. But, true Peace.
A harmony of spirit, a
comfort of courtesies.
Security for our beloveds
and their beloveds.
We clap hands and welcome
the Peace of Christmas.
We beckon this good season
to wait a while with us.
We, Baptist and Buddhist,
Methodist and Muslim, say come.
Peace.
Come and fill us and our
world with your majesty.
We, the Jew and the
Jainist, the Catholic and the Confucian,
Implore you, to stay a
while with us.
So we may learn by your
shimmering light
How to look beyond
complexion and see community.
It is Christmas time, a
halting of hate time.
On this platform of peace,
we can create a language
To translate ourselves to
ourselves and to each other.
At this Holy Instant, we
celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ
Into the great religions
of the world.
We jubilate the precious
advent of trust.
We shout with glorious
tongues at the coming of hope.
All the earth's tribes
loosen their voices
To celebrate the promise
of Peace.
We, Angels and Mortal's,
Believers and Non-Believers,
Look heavenward and speak
the word aloud.
Peace. We look at our
world and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look at each
other, then into ourselves
And we say without shyness
or apology or hesitation.
Peace, My Brother.
Peace, My Sister.
Peace, My Soul.
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