I HEARD THE BELLS ON CHRISTMAS DAY
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ~ Public Domain

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.

I 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.

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."

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.