A very personal observation from last night and a mea culpa.
For the past year I’ve been stuck on the third verse of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”.
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 th’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.”
Last night, during Doug Jones’ victory speech, right at the end, when he quoted Martin Luther King (the moral arc of the universe in long, but it bends towards justice), I could at last begin to hear the final verses of Longfellow’s poem.
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!
And on a final note, if you haven’t already done so, I believe you should all visit Denise Oliver Velez’s diary.
I am embarrassed to admit that I have never gotten involved with Black Kos, because I’m not black. It’s time for me to rectify that wrong. And perhaps it’s something you should think about as well.
I hope you too can hear the bells this morning.