. . .Peace to Men of Good Will

.     .     .     Peace to Men of Good Will                                        

 How dare I give homage to peace
When humans block the way.
Until no soul can find release 
From the chaos of today.

Peace is not a season
To be sanctioned in December
For some long-forgotten reason 
We should fervently remember.

Peace may be God’s peculiar light – 
A blinding blast from outer space
Illuminating, left and right,
The absence of the human race.   
 

The Curator’s Notes: This poem was written during: Ongoing Cold War nuclear threat (though détente was beginning) Reagan-era military buildup Proxy wars worldwide Growing environmental concerns The poet’s personal awareness of her approaching death. “Peace to Men of Good Will” comes from the traditional Latin Christmas carol (Luke 2:14): “Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis” (Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will). But the poem questions whether there are any “men of good will”—or whether “good will” is sufficient given human capacity for destruction.