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Rev. Michael Chittum, PhD, Executive Director
Written by Joyce Kilmer soon before he was killed in WWI, this poem speaks to the hope of Christmas even in dire circumstances, like in times of war. May this poem serve to remind us that Christmas exists in the place and in the time where love and home continue.
Wartime Christmas by Joyce Kilmer - 1886-1918
Led by a star, a golden star,
The youngest star, an olden star,
Here the kings and the shepherds are,
Akneeling on the ground.
What did they come to the inn to see?
God in the Highest, and this is He,
A baby asleep on His mother’s knee
And with her kisses crowned.
Now is the earth a dreary place,
A troubled place, a weary place.
Peace has hidden her lovely face
And turned in tears away.
Yet the sun, through the war-cloud, sees
Babies asleep on their mother’s knees.
While there are love and home—and these—
There shall be Christmas Day.
