This was shared by someone in a group I belong to. I wanted to share it with all of my Zubby Family.
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, 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 "It's 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 &nbs p;
Construction
Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum , Iraq
Tags: Christmas Troops Soldiers Poem
OK while I'm at it, this is something that's been bothering me for
awhile. Maybe perplexing me is a better phrase. I understand that some
people don't want HTML comments and I fully respect that. As soon as I
get to someone's page and see they don't accept them, I don't leave
them. Easy enough.
What perplexes me is why? I know a lot of
people don't find them personal. But they can be that and so much more.
They are funny, cute, serious, silly, meaningful, etc. As I get to know
people better I like to leave more personalized, typed messages. But
sometimes you find just the right graphic to convey what you may not be
able to put into words yourself.
I realize this is just my
opinion and everyone is certainly entitled to their own. What prompted
me to write this is the fact that 99.9% of the people who don't ACCEPT
HTML comments do SEND them. So is this a case of it's better to give
then receive? Or is it a case of you can dish it out but you can't take
it?
Tags: Comments Html Friends Social
ately
I have been thinking a lot about those family members I have lost in
this life -- my mom, dad and big sis. It made me remember this poem I
found shortly after my father passed. It's easy to get mad at someone
and carry that anger with you. It's difficult to say you're sorry or
even more so to admit you're wrong. Life is too short. Remember to
tell your loved ones that you love them and tell them often. Don't
waste time dwelling on the past because that's exactly what it is, the
PAST.
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.
