a different christmas poem... sent from a friend

A Different Christmas Poem
Let Us Not Forget Our Heroes!

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,
A way 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".




i'm not sure of the author..
a good friend sent me this
tammy
pass it on..

xoxo

i met rosie!!

3 days ago
and just now
can i speak about it.

Sunday, nov. 4th.
dolphin mall,
miami,fl

a day i will never forget

i didnt say much
i planned in my head
what i was going to say

something clever
something to make her remember me
but not corney

and nothing..

i shook
and shivered
but no clever words

she senced it
she huged me
and told me to breath
a real hug
not like a stranger
it felt good
better than good
like when a baby falls asleep
on your chest good
or when you have just
gone through something
really hard
and its all better now

i wish i was better with words
to try and explain this
is near impossible

but i met her
face to face
eye contact
conversation
with rosie odonnell

rough copy of a book
in an envelope
hand painted
by kira and me
brief explination
illustrate
all profits
to rbk

sounds simple
but i know nothing is
in celebrityville
hopefully a reply
or some sort

but if not
i shall try again


xoxo