Will we hear the bells again?
Since November 8, 2016 this poem has never been far from my conscious thoughts.
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!"
In 1861 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow had fallen into a deep depression after the tragic loss of his wife Frances. In 1863 Longfellow suffered yet another blow, when his son Charley was gravely wounded in battle while fighting for the Union during the Civil War. A grim Longfellow retrieved his son in December, brought him home and set about the difficult task of trying to nurse him back to health. The Christmas Bells inspired Longfellow and in their ringing he found some peace.
Our nation again finds itself in a "civil war". This time the black, accursed mouths are not canons, but a vile, unholy charlatan who has convinced a sizable portion of our country that lies and cruelty are winning strategies. And I find myself, as I have for the past three years, locked in Longfellow’s penultimate stanza;
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!"
Next year, perhaps for the final time, we have the opportunity to come together as the resistance and help everyone in our country have a better chance to "hear the bells". Will we break through and like Longfellow, hear the bells peal more loud and deep or will we forever live in a hateful silence, without the bells?
The choice is yours.
