December the 8th, 2015. Let this be our first day of Christmas. In this tumultuous world, I think a day of calm, peace and brotherhood might be in order. There is a conventional wisdom that we, (the world), are once again embroiled in a World War with terrorists that would do harm to innocents.
History repeats itself, and if we take pause to look back, we can see that there are moments when the young men, charged with settling their elder’s disputes, realize that combatants can step aside, even if only for a few brief seconds, and celebrate their shared humanity.

A Partridge in a tree I’ve not
But in their stead;
Here’s what I’ve got
JPB

Trêve de Noël (The Christmas Miracle)

The whole world groaned and grumbled, the December of ‘Fourteen’
The winds of war blew harsh and cold, the worst that’s ever been

The snow and sleet and rain, chilled soldier’s bodies to the bone
To die amidst this multitude, and yet; to die alone

The acrid hint of mustard gas, the sound of Gatling’s guns
The horrors of a world at war, that couldn’t be undone

The sun peeked through the gloomy clouds, to let in Christmas day
And shed a ray of sunlight, on the wounded where they lay

But then a sound cut through the cold, which turned into a din
Both sides forgot their hatred, and they let the Christmas in

“Froehliche Weihnachten”, “Joyeux Noël” and “Merry Christmas Greetings”
The trenches emptied out into, a “No Man’s Land” truce meeting

Men exchanging hats and gifts, who just the day before
Were shoving one another, through death’s ever open door

Carols echoed ‘cross the field, that took their bands of brothers
And tears filled up their eyes, as both sides gazed at one another

Two arms, two eyes, a heart and mind, a family and a name
Could it be, that in God’s eyes that they were all the same?

The truce set with the sun, but all those troops remember when
That one time there was Peace on Earth, and Goodwill towards All Men

Jeff Burkhart’s “Rhyme and Reason”
© Copyright, December, 2015
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