Two short Christmas poems from soldier poets killed in the
First World War:
British Christmas card, 1917 |
Lance Sgt H.H. Munro |
Carol
All seated on the ground
A high-explosive shell came down
And mutton rained around.
—Saki (H.H.
Munro)
Hector Hugh Munro (his pen name Saki) is best
known for his archly playful short stories. Despite being officially too old to
enlist, at the age of 43, he volunteered with the British Army. On November 14, 1916, while sheltering in a
shell crater in No Man’s Land, he was killed by a sniper. His last words were “Put that bloody
cigarette out.”
WWI Christmas car |
Kings
The Kings of the earth are men of might,
And cities are burned for their delight,
And the skies rain death in the silent night,
And the hills belch death all day!
But the King of Heaven, Who made them all,
But the King of Heaven, Who made them all,
Is fair and gentle, and very small;
He lies in the straw, by the oxen’s stall—
Let them think of Him to-day!
—Joyce
Kilmer
American poet Joyce Kilmer is best known for his poem “Trees” (I think that I shall never see/ A poem as lovely as a tree). He was killed by a sniper at the Second Battle of the Marne on July 30, 1918.
Sgt. Joyce Kilmer |
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