Herzliche Weihnachtsgrüße aus Kalifornien!


T'was an eerie quiet that rose in that night,
As, one by one, the thunder of the big guns subsided,
And the rattattatt of small gunfire fell silent on both sides.

Then, hesitating at first, a few men climbed out of their trenches,
Waving their arms with small lights held up high,
Shouting: "No shooting, no shooting!"

And some called out cheers t’ward the enemy's side,
And soldiers called back,
Across that battlefield soaked with their blood.

Then one started singing, and others fell in,
And an unusual warmth replaced the cold of the night,
On that battlefield soaked with their blood.

And then there was silence again,
And they sat in the dark,
The boy on this side and old man on the other.

Poem for the season, by