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
6 comments:
As i read this poem i can only think how we take our safety for granted. It breaks my heart to think that these men and women are away from their families at this time of year. But i think what hurts even worse is listening to those that live under the watch of these soldiers, disrespect what these men and women stand for. What happened to the heart of this country. I ask, where has America gone? Keep our soldiers in your thoughts and prayers always not just this time of year. They help us sleep at night even though they have never met us.
I loved this poem and sent it along to all my family members and friends. Too many Americans are so tied up in their own little dramas that they forget about our military sacrificing for them on a daily basis. Gods speed to all those serving!
We are perfectly safe. Our police forces and sheriff's departments could protect us sufficiently from any enemy stupid enough to invade our country. Add to that the armed criminals in this country and the enemy would be totally outnumbered and out flanked.
We don't need to be in foreign lands making enemies with our oppressive political agenda. We need for our Federal Government to take care of our country - not forage for free poppies in Afghanistan.
Imagine for a minute how safe we would be if our entire armed forces actually protected us? We would have no illegal aliens which would save millions of American jobs and money on education, health and welfare of the illegal population. We would have no illegal drugs. How could anyone bring drugs into our country if we actually protected our borders with the military? No one would attempt to attack us. We would be perfectly safe and could have 1/4 of the military budget maybe even less!
What do the rest of you think?
11:24 - I agree with you BUT this post was about supporting our troops who did not send themselves to war!
11:24
I agree also. It is the Federal Government (President and Congress) who funds and authorizes wars. They have "sent the soldiers" into war. They apparently have sent them into war completely untrained - or at least, under-trained. 11:24 makes some excellent points. Why haven't we won yet? These enemies are nothing compared to the Vietnamese or the Germans and Japanese armies. Why can't we defeat these "terrorists" who hide in caves and blow up cars in town squares? Come on. Maybe you need to pay more money to the soldiers and actually GET THE BEST, THE BRIGHTEST in America.
Sounds like we are paying for franchise players and getting second stringers.
The soldiers who are now in their 40's and 50's know how to fight. But the younger generation must be a dissapointment.
Those of us in management know how terrible the young generation is. They aren't dependable. They are lazy. They want to talk and text all day long. They are real slackers. Think about it. These are the same generation who are soldiers right now in Afghanistan. No wonder we can't win.
My guess is the Generals are frustrated as hill because of the kids they have to work with.
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