bell tower

i cannot see a bell tower
but the melody and words
of a favorite Christmas carol
run through my mind

the one that mentions
doubt
at their being
"peace on earth
good will to men"
even though the wild and sweet
strains of Christmas
insist on it

the honesty heard in the age old
hymn
tolls loud and clear to me
as does the victory
at the end

yes "hate is strong
and mocks the song"

but louder still
the truth peals deep
"God is not dead
nor doth He sleep"





*Yesterday i heard Mr. Forrest Robinson speak of experiences he had over 60 years ago as a liberator and witness to the horrors of the holocaust. He spoke of entering a concentration camp to a scene more horrible than he could take in. He found himself moments later, raising his fist to heaven and cursing God. Later in his talk, he credited God with the grace of erasing his memory of some of the horror. He ended by describing the scene in a small German town when the bells began to peal out the news that the war was over. People began streaming down the village streets to the church. He made the walk, arm in arm with a German soldier. His story was told with the passion and humility that only one who had been there could muster. It is recorded in a book entitled Liberators by William Hirsh.

Thank God, that in the end, bells, trumpets and shouts of victory will overcome the sounds, sights, and smells of war and death.