Children's Christmas Poem

Christmas Bells

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 North and South,

And with the sound
The carols drowned

Of peace on earth, good will to men.

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearthstones 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!"

~ Henry W. Longfellow


Reading with Expression, 1911, fifth grade

Printable version at Google Documents.