Peace Will Rise

There’s the song that ripped me open, as if the entire record had been only to prime me for this moment. “Peace Will Rise” is a masterpiece, a call to nonviolence, an articulation of the courage it takes NOT to throw the next blow. It is a reminder of the sheer strength it takes to choose not to soothe ourselves by escalating violence that may have been perpetuated on us.

It is told from the Northern Irish point of view, but the final, poignant, poetic call to arms is for all of us:

If those who prayed for violence
And shed their children’s blood
Can work for peace that lasts beyond all time
Then enemies in other lands
May someday staunch the flood
Of war that breaks all hearts, both yours and mine

I am left with tears, but they’re sweet tears, tears of compassion. Tears for the beauty of humanity, of the sacredness of everyday life, for the reverence and the privilege of being human. We owe them, the people in these songs. We owe the brave workers who dug deep, who worked hard and still dedicated themselves, together, to the vision of a better life for the ones that came afterward: us. -Kathy Mattea