Dark night. No moon

(Dark night. No moon. Barbed wire vaguely silhouetted against sky. Deathly silence. Man in uniform wanders on stage. He stops, lights a cigarette. Relaxes. Then he stiffens. Sniffs as if smelling something on the wind. Raises his rifle as if in warning. A youth stumbles in.)

Stop. Halt. Or I shoot. MAN:

No. Don’t shoot. We know each other here As only strangers can. BOY:

You won’t be the first man I’ve shot And you won’t be the last. MAN:

Halt I say.

I was trying to escape. Over the wall. But the night was so dark That I lost my way. The mist Came up so early. I didn’t expect it. And I’ve been wandering for hours Looking for a way. It was so quiet. I thought I’d wandered off into the country. Somewhere strange and remote. And then I gave up and decided to go back. But I couldn’t. I was lost. And I’ve lived here all my life. In Berlin. Then I saw you. And I was glad. I knew you were a guard but I was glad To see somebody. You. Alive at least. BOY:

I was afraid. I don’t know why. But I was afraid more of the night and the silence Than I was of you. The mist was quiet And unfamiliar. And my heart stopped. To breath seemed out of place In a place so out of time As this. And when I saw you I was glad. I knew I might die, that you could shoot me If you wanted to. But death was so remote On the night that Christ was born That I thought I’d risk it.

MAN:

Christ risked going into Jerusalem And ended up with five more holes in Him Than he started out with. If you want I’ll do the same service for you. I can’t supply a cross or nails, but I’ll be glad to shoot four holes in your hands and feet And finish you off with my bayonet in the side. I can’t entomb you or wrap you in a shroud But I can leave you here in the rain and sun for a week And the birds might peck through your pants and move your stones. I can’t promise you a resurrection Or anything like that, I’m afraid. But the stray dogs will be very grateful. And you’ll have served some useful purpose.

BOY:

It’s strange you should want to kill me Tonight, when Christ brought life into the world.