Jetpig
New Member
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
A lone in the dark he looked up and smile
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 drift
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and 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 time
No one had to ask or beg or implore
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before
My Gramps died at Pearl on a day in December
Then he sighed That's a Christmas we all remember
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam
And now it is my turn and so now 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 those known
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 for 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 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 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
A lone in the dark he looked up and smile
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 drift
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and 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 time
No one had to ask or beg or implore
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before
My Gramps died at Pearl on a day in December
Then he sighed That's a Christmas we all remember
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam
And now it is my turn and so now 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 those known
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 for 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 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
