A Moment's Grace - Remembering Our Troops At Christmas

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I've been watching a film called "Silent Night," which is a true story about an incident in WWII Germany when a group of soldiers on both sides put down their guns and celebrated Christmas as men instead of enemies. Below is a poem I wrote about a friend's experience when he was in hand to hand combat in Vietnam at the age of 18. This poem has been published both in the U.S. and England and I think it's pretty special because it reminds us of how fragile life is. I hope you like it. A MOMENT’S GRACE 1/10/02 Our eyes met suddenly and locked in bewilderment knowing death had come to one of us We stood almost frozen - in disbelief we stared at one another surrounded by silence in the midst of war And even though mere seconds were all that passed in time - eternity had come to challenge both of us He was just a simple boy - a child much like myself who should have been my friend Yet as we stood there for that precious moment’s grace we knew that one of us would die Then suddenly we lunged and death’s taste had stung with an understanding we’d never be the same One of us for losing life and the other for taking it - only to never live the same again I watched as life’s light slowly crept from in his eyes until it vanished with my heart A picture spoke so vividly of the family he would never see and the future he would never have Yet the picture remaining is of the last few seconds before death would rob us both Copyright © 2002, Kimberly Lovell, all rights reserved