AMAZING PEACE by Maya Angelou

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 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 Jainist, the Catholic and the Confucian,
Implore you to stay while with us
So we may learn by your shimmering light
How to look behond complexion and see community.

It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time.

On this platform of peace, we can create a language
To traanslate 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 the coming of hope.
All the earth's tribes loosen their voices
To celebrate the promise of Peace.

We Angels and Mortals, Believers and Nonbelievers,
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

Rosemary Doyle