Posted on 12/24/2008 4:45:29 PM PST by Upstate NY Guy
A SOLDIERS CHRISTMAS
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight;
The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem.
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream
The sound wasnt loud, and it wasnt too near,
But I opened my eye when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didnt quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood; his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child...
(Excerpt) Read more at iwvpa.net ...
Thank you. Our boy is home this year and we are so thankful. Last year he was in country.
Dan,
Please thank your boy for his service to our country.
Merry Christmas.
AR
I love this poem and I love this country. Merry Christmas.
A SOLDIERS CHRISTMAS
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight;
The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem.
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream
The sound wasnt loud, and it wasnt too near,
But I opened my eye when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didnt quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood; his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
What are you doing? I asked without fear
Come in this moment, its freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,
To the window that danced with a warm fires light
Then he sighed and he said, Its really all right,
Im out here by choice. Im here every night
Its my duty to stand at the front of the line
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
Im proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at Pearl on a day in December,
Then he sighed, Thats a Christmas Gram always remembers.
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of Nam
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
Ive not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, hes sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red white and blue
an American flag
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home,
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat,
I can carry the weight of killing another
Or lay down my life with my sisters and brothers
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To insure for all time that this flag will not fall.
So go back inside, he said, harbor no fright
Your family is waiting and Ill be all right.
But isnt there something I can do, at the least,
Give you money, I asked, or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that youve done,
For being away from your wife and your son.
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
Just tell us you love us, and never forget
To fight for our rights back at home while were gone;
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust.
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.
Thank your son for all of us. My nephew is in Japan working on Patriot missiles. God bless our troops!
Thanks for posting this NY Guy, and thanks to your son for his service, Dan.
We are fortunate that our soldier and our Marine are home for Christmas, but we can easily count a dozen children of friends who are currently deployed at sea or on the ground away from family on this Christmas.
May God bless and keep them all.
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