Christmas Bells

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1864)

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.�