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The Christmas Truce of 1914

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Broken bodies lie all around
The stench of death in the air
Comrades huddle to think of home
Quiet on the Western Front, so rare

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 Cigars and whiskey, carols sung
For a time, atrocious acts cease
Tentative handshakes by the foes
As war breaks into peace

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 Fritz and Tommy in No Man’s Land
Only a language barrier in between
With dignity their fallen lain to rest
The Christmas Truce of 1914

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 A football appears and two teams form
The beautiful game incongruously played
For many, their last taste of fun
In the morning, the goodwill fades

Notes

“I issued immediate orders to prevent any recurrence of such conduct”.
Sir John French, British Commander-in-Chief.

Source: https://footballpoets.org/poems/the-christmas-truce-of-1914/