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| From~Amazing Peace : a Christmas Poem by Maya Angelou; paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher |
Whether you are at home or
away, with family or quietly on your own, whether you’re enjoying a tree
trimmed with lights and ornaments, a menorah, candles for Kwanza or however
you’re celebrating and honoring your beliefs and traditions, we wish you all joy
and light and want to share with you a message of hope for peace, acceptance and
love beautifully expressed in the poem Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem by the late Dr. Maya Angelou and first read in 2005 at the lighting of the National
Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C. In 2008, the poem was published as a
stunning picture book illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Facher. (Public
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| Amazing Peace: a Christmas Poem by Maya Angelou; paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. |
May you all find amazing peace
this Holiday season.
Sharry and Tam
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| From~Amazing Peace : a Christmas Poem by Maya Angelou; paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher |
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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| From~Amazing Peace: a Christmas Poem by Maya Angelou; paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher |
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