Georgia Douglas Johnson’s “Peace” pictures a world where conflict has ended and kindness is healing old wounds. The speaker describes peace settling over hills, valleys, and human hearts, as goodwill replaces bitterness. The imagery moves from war’s darkness—strife, shellfire, a cruel cordon—to the release of charity and compassion. There is relief in the voice, but also a quiet triumph: people emerge from the shadows, shaped by fire, yet joined together rather than divided. The final image of all people standing as one beneath the sun gives the poem a warm, optimistic glow. The mood is calm and hopeful, like the clear air after a storm. It is not a naive peace; it comes after suffering, which makes the vision of brotherhood feel earned and steady.
Peace — Summary
Peace on a thousand hills and dales, Peace in the hearts of men While kindliness reclaims the soil Where bitterness has been.
The night of strife is drifting past, The storm of shell has ceased. Disrupted is the cordon fell, Sweet charity released.
Forth from the shadow, swift we come Wrought in the flame together. All men as one beneath the sun In brotherhood forever.