This month’s blog post had lots of possible material: progress with students, business plans for the next year, professional development and even informal discussions I’ve had with teachers about issues such as corporal punishment and educational motivation. Yet, I’ve decided to set the heavy material aside for a later date. Rather, this month’s blog will focus on sharing.
On a recent trip to one of the local libraries to meet with a client, I happened to spot a tiny book. For some reason or other I yanked it off the shelf and found in my hands Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem by the late Dr. Maya Angelou. Maybe it was some sort of mini-miracle. I’d never read this particular work by Angelou, but once I borrowed and read it I was glad I took it off the shelf.
The poem asks readers embrace the peace and promise of Christmas, forget their differences and to celebrate each other – whether Christian or not. This piece resonated with me because it made me think about T&T and the way everyone gets into the Christmas celebrations. It also made me think of the ways Christmas is not necessarily only a time to think about the birth of Jesus Christ, but also a time to reconnect with family and friends, especially for those who aren’t Christian.
Now, for the sharing. Below is an excerpt from the poem Amazing Peace by Dr. Maya Angelou. I do hope you enjoy. Season’s Greetings!
Best,
Zahra
Amazing Peace
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 Confucian,
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.
On this platform of peace, we can create a
language
To translate ourselves to ourselves and to
each other…
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.