Christmas Bells by Henry David Longfellow

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!

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!’

Longfellow maintained his hope in mankind through the Civil War, and I hope that we can all see that there is more good than not in the world.
This painting of Longfellow is from the National Portrait Gallery, which is a great way to walk through the history of our nation, a story told in the paintings of people, and the things they did. When I was in Washington for The Rally To Restore Sanity, I had an hour to spare between the end of the rally and my dinner reservations. The restaurant was right across the street from the National Portrait Gallery, and because of pervasive problems with crowds, it was nice to finally be off the streets and in a building with indoor plumbing. It was such a pleasurable place to pass the time--lots of portraits of favorite artists and politicians to marvel at, and a beautiful building to harbor them all. Wishing everyone warm holidays.