Christmas Wish
I know what they're all asking for. A clean bed, a decent meal, a kind word from a cold guard. All I'm asking for is peace. Yes, peace. They tell me it's a dead man's dream. Freedom can only be gotten when the Allies come marching in, they tell me. Well, that won't help me none in this cage. Not right now anyway. I need freedom, peace, now.
You're laughing, aren't you? Well, this freedom's peace of mind. I don't have that, you know. If I can have peace of mind, this whole mess is doable. I can manage the scrappy living and tiresome boredom. It's my head and heart I can't control.
:: ::
Well, it's Christmas today. The colonel's putting out little projects to keep us all busy. It's hard for him, too, to keep the festive mood in such a dump as this. The Frenchman's cooking a feast of a meal. Good for him. A certain British corporal is swiping candles off the Kommandant's table set. Better for him.
I wonder what I'll come up with. Everyone looks so happy. Kinch goes by.
Hi, yes, Sergeant, it is a bright day. And a merry Christmas to you, too.
Another happy face.
Sergeant Carter, yes, of course I'll help with that.
He's so happy I could offer a finger to help tie the bow. I wonder where he got the ribbon. His face is all beaming as he scampers off.
Am I missing something?
:: ::
It's six o'clock in the rec hall. The Frenchman is putting out that lovely dish he's been brooding over all day. We say grace, eat, then shout and sing. Some guys pretend to be drunk, just for the heck of it. There isn't any booze for miles that we could get. Merry Christmas, merry Christmas. Away in a manger, silent night, the angels did sing, come all ye faithful. Jingle bells.
I crawl away into my bunk in Barracks 2. The ruckus is a muffled distraction. Wait, there's a man roaming outside, all alone.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light
He's singing.
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight
I sit up. Nothing better to do.
Where misery cries out to thee,
Son of the mother mild;
Where charity stands watching
And faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
And Christmas comes once more.
O holy Child of Bethlehem!
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!
The man looks up into the night sky and offers a sharp salute. He walks back to the rec hall and joins once more the light and gaiety. I turn over in my bed.
The meaning of Christmas.
Maybe, just maybe.
Peace. Maybe not out there, but in here, in me at least.
I smile.
a/n: Merry Christmas, one and all! This is a short thing I put together at midnight, December 25, 2011. The lyrics are actual additional lines to "O Little Town of Bethlehem." I wish you the best of time with your families and friends.