|
"Old Soldier's Christmas Poem”
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.
But I opened my eyes when it tickled
my ear. Perhaps just a cough, I didn't 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, it's
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
fire's light Then he sighed and he said "Its
really all right, I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night." "It's
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, I'm proud to stand here like my
fathers before me. My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in
December," Then he sighed, "That's 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. I've not seen my own son in more than
a while, But my wife sends me pictures, he's 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 sister and
brother.. Who stand at the front against any and
all, To ensure for all time that this flag
will not fall." "So go back inside," he
said, "harbor no fright, Your family is waiting and I'll be all
right." "But isn't 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
you've 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 we're 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." PLEASE, Would you do me the kind favor
of sending this to as many people as you can?
Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S.
service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny
bit of what we owe. Make people stop
and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us. |
|||
|
