A Different 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.

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 t is due
to our U.S.servicemen 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

Previous | Next | Back to Messages Hillhoney39069.3790046296Thank you Hillhoney. I will send this to my hubby at work and
from there it will get passed around the base. It really would be
nice if everyone could say "thank you" to those military
members they see this season. Being a military wife, I get to
see firsthand the sacrifices made by the soldiers and their
families. My husband has not yet had to go to war, but many of
our dear friends are leaving right after Christmas for their
second, third, and fourth deployments. My husband is an
officer, so we are able to live comfortably, but it is extremely
hard seeing the way the enlisted families live. They work so
hard and put their lives on the line, and many of them struggle
to pay the bills and buy school supplies for their kids. But they
never complain, because they feel like they are already
rewarded by being able to do something noble. So especially
at Chriistmas, if you are able to do something to say thanks,
please take that opportunity.
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