Twelve Days of a Modern Christmas

On the first day if Christmas not much of a yield A false sense of peace over a normally killing field On the second day of Christmas each peace patrol Went back and forth from billets in its appointed role On the third day of Christmas suicide bombers struck Killing returnees from market in an old beat up truck On the fourth day of Christmas came a retaliatory attack The victims of yesterday striking straight and hard back On the fifth day of Christmas the Colonel said Out on the streets try keep a clear watchful head On the sixth day of Christmas every one could hear The crack of sniper rifles seeming far too near On the seventh day of Christmas uneasy peace broke out Just an eerie type of silence as each patrol moved about On the eight day of Christmas the Padre conducted prayers And called for the understanding of all parties out there On the ninth day of Christmas the truce held still As if being maintained by sheer force of will On the tenth day of Christmas with tour’s end in sight Mortars bombs whined in breaking up the night On the eleventh day of Christmas one tour came to an end And the patrol was replaced by one of more rested men On the twelfth day of Christmas resting back at base A forty eight before the return to another awful place