December 17th, 2006
This entry was posted on December 17, 2006 10:48 AM and is filed under the troops.
A Different Christmas Poem
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed 'round the room as I cherished their 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 eye lids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secured and surrounded by love, I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sounds wasn't loud, and it wasn't to near,
But I opened my eye's 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,
I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold in the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A Sailor, I puzzled, some twenty-years old!
Perhaps a Sailor 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 this cold Christmas Eve."
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts ...
To a 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 that day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas Grams always remembers.
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam,'
And now it is my turn, 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 stand at my post through the rain and sleet;
I can sleep in a fox hole 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 to little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eyes welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget,
To fight for our rights back 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 remembered we fought and we bled,
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you, as you matter to us!"
Written by;
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed 'round the room as I cherished their 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 eye lids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secured and surrounded by love, I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sounds wasn't loud, and it wasn't to near,
But I opened my eye's 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,
I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold in the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A Sailor, I puzzled, some twenty-years old!
Perhaps a Sailor 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 this cold Christmas Eve."
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts ...
To a 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 that day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas Grams always remembers.
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam,'
And now it is my turn, 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 stand at my post through the rain and sleet;
I can sleep in a fox hole 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 to little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eyes welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget,
To fight for our rights back 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 remembered we fought and we bled,
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you, as you matter to us!"
Written by;
LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum,
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December 18, 2006 1:03 AM
Dave Wentz wrote:
Thank you Joe for publishing the poem in today's blog that I sent you a couple of weeks ago. I would also like to say a special Christmas thank you to LCDR Jeff Giles and to the thousands of other American troops in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East who so bravely and unselfishly defend our freedoms abroad so that we can continue to enjoy our American way of life at home.
I would be remiss if I didn't also thank you Joe for all you have done over the past several years and the message of hope you have spread to your friends all over the world. For an average Joe you have extraordinary talent and a huge heart. Some people go through life with no idea of the impact they have on other people, but somehow Joe I think you do. You are the modern day Bob Hope. It has been an extreme honor to call you one of my friends.
I pray that you never get discouraged in what you are doing. It is clear that God has placed a burden on your heart to share your stories that give us all a reason to believe that this is the greatest Nation on the earth. Your blogs continue to be an inspiration to all of us. Have a Merry Christmas and don't stop doing what you do.
I love you man,
Your bro,
Dave Wentz
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