The Thousandth Regiment - 31. "Here no Christmas trees twinkle lit for us"

How desolate these cold, weary soldiers are; how much, even early in the war, do they yearn for the seasons of peacetime. Hans again draws on images of home and faith, this time to try and conjure Christmas in the mind in a war that makes privation and brutality eternal. Your translation evokes the chill winds of death and cold; through it we hear the heart-cries of those who lived in that horrific war. 

I missed Christmas those years i had none. It was the worst time of year to be on your own. All you want is those who love you and  you love. Presents and all of that mean nothing. 

Reading these ... his calling for God/Christ ... makes me wonder. It makes me wonder, if all believed in the same God, what type of horrible creature would allow all his 'children' fight like this. How did God choose which side to support?  What kind of Father was he where all this bloody horror was just fine with him?  None that deserves my belief. 

Hans' poem is sad and grieving for the life he is missing and wants. It drags up feelings i no longer want to think of.

On 10/7/2019 at 9:38 AM, Parker Owens said:

How desolate these cold, weary soldiers are; how much, even early in the war, do they yearn for the seasons of peacetime. Hans again draws on images of home and faith, this time to try and conjure Christmas in the mind in a war that makes privation and brutality eternal. Your translation evokes the chill winds of death and cold; through it we hear the heart-cries of those who lived in that horrific war. 

Thank you, Parker. I find the line "We live so desolate, so forgotten" to be heartbreaking. To feel forgotten at a time like this...it just tugs on the heart. Thank you for reading and commenting on this poem. 

That sonnet is heartbreaking, but it also makes me think about the people today, which must feel forgotten. Looking at Christmas in two month... out in the world are far to many people having to endure cruel wars or hunger or persecution for very different reasons.

On 10/7/2019 at 11:14 AM, Mikiesboy said:

I missed Christmas those years i had none. It was the worst time of year to be on your own. All you want is those who love you and  you love. Presents and all of that mean nothing. 

Reading these ... his calling for God/Christ ... makes me wonder. It makes me wonder, if all believed in the same God, what type of horrible creature would allow all his 'children' fight like this. How did God choose which side to support?  What kind of Father was he where all this bloody horror was just fine with him?  None that deserves my belief. 

Hans' poem is sad and grieving for the life he is missing and wants. It drags up feelings i no longer want to think of.

Thank you for your comments, Tim. Hugs for what you are saying. I wish things could have been different. For the men of Hans' generation, what if the famous  truce of Christmas 1914 on the Western Front had become permanent, with the men just refusing to kill one another for some abstract ideas of national duty. What if...but the generals saw to it that man-to-man meeting of "enemies" did not happen in 1916 and 1917. The killing was to go on right though the holy-day....

On 10/19/2019 at 3:46 AM, Lyssa said:

That sonnet is heartbreaking, but it also makes me think about the people today, which must feel forgotten. Looking at Christmas in two month... out in the world are far to many people having to endure cruel wars or hunger or persecution for very different reasons.

There are such horrible images coming out of Syria again... Hans' line about the forgotten seems so sadly apt for the Kurds... Our world is capable of so much better 

As always, thank you for reading, commenting and giving me tremendous support while I struggle through this project