Amazing Peace

In 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.

…

We clap hands and welcome the Peace of Christmas,
We beckon this good season to wait awhile 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 Cunfucian,
Implore you to stay awhile 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.

Maya Angelou, AMAZING PEACE: A Christmas Poem. New York: Random House, 2005.

Photo: Corpus Christi bayfront, December 2015