fatrap
Well-Known Member
From my old sea daddy. Major Jim Thiesse USMC ret.
> 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.
><
> 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.
><
