A Different Christmas Poem

[Bowtech_archer07]

Received this in an email, sorry if it has been posted before, but well worth the read;)

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 wasn't loud, and it wasn't

too near,

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.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN

30th Naval Construction Regiment

OIC, Logistics Cell One

Al Taqqadum, Iraq

God Bless America and every soldier who is or has ever or will ever fight to protect her.

[Randy]

I've seen that one a few times but, it's a good reminder. Thanks for posting it.

[aksheephuntress]

....my first time reading this.....

-really hit home and meant a lot......

-thankyou so much for posting this.....

[Bowtech_archer07]

It home for me too Kathleen. Really reminds you what the season is about.