V. Peace

 Here’s a well‑known poem by Swami Vivekananda on the theme of peace (Shanti) — composed in 1899 at Ridgely Manor, New York: 

🕊️ 

Peace

 — Poem by Swami Vivekananda

Peace

Behold, it comes in might,

The power that is not power,

The light that is in darkness,

The shade in dazzling light.

It is joy that never spoke,

And grief unfelt, profound,

Immortal life unlived,

Eternal death unmourned.

It is not joy nor sorrow,

But that which is between,

It is not night nor morrow,

But that which joins them in.

It is sweet rest in music;

And pause in sacred art;

The silence between speaking;

Between two fits of passion —

It is the calm of heart.

It is beauty never seen,

And love that stands alone,

It is song that lives un‑sung,

And knowledge never known.

It is death between two lives,

And lull between two storms,

The void whence rose creation,

And that where it returns.

To it the tear‑drop goes,

To spread the smiling form

It is the Goal of Life,

And Peace — its only home! 

🌿 About the Poem

• This poem explores peace as an inner reality, not merely the absence of conflict.
• Vivekananda describes it as something that is not joy or sorrow, but that which connects them — the still center amidst life’s polarities.
• Peace is portrayed as the true home of the soul and the ultimate goal of life, beyond birth, death, and worldly opposites.  

If you’d like, I can also give a line‑by‑line explanation of the imagery and deeper meaning in the poem. Would you like that?