I foresee this beautiful poem getting a LOT of mileage. Thank you for posting it!
E-mailing right away!
Posted on 12/12/2004 5:10:37 PM PST by SandRat
Powerful poem for the holidays ~! Please pass on, and Merry Christmas to you and yours, wherever you are this season ~!
THE SANDS OF CHRISTMAS
I had no Christmas spirit when I breathed a weary sigh,
and looked across the table where the bills were piled too high.
The laundry wasn't finished and the car I had to fix,
My stocks were down another point, the Chargers lost by six.
And so with only minutes till my son got home from school
I gave up on the drudgery and grabbed a wooden stool.
The burdens that I carried were about all I could take,
and so I flipped the TV on to catch a little break.
I came upon a desert scene in shades of tan and rust,
No snowflakes hung upon the wind, just clouds of swirling dust.
And where the reindeer should have stood before a laden sleigh,
eight Humvees ran a column right behind an M1A.
A group of boys walked past the tank, not one was past his teens,
Their eyes were hard as polished flint, their faces drawn and lean.
They walked the street in armor with their rifles shouldered tight,
their dearest wish for Christmas, just to have a silent night.
Other soldiers gathered, hunkered down against the wind,
To share a scrap of mail and dreams of going home again.
There wasn't much at all to put their lonely hearts at ease,
They had no Christmas turkey, just a pack of MREs.
They didn't have a garland or a stocking I could see,
They didn't need an ornament--they lacked a Christmas tree.
They didn't have a present even though it was tradition,
the only boxes I could see were labeled "ammunition."
I felt a little tug and found my son now by my side,
He asked me what it was I feared, and why it was I cried.
I swept him up into my arms and held him oh so near
and kissed him on the forehead as I whispered in his ear.
There's nothing wrong my little son, for safe we sleep tonight,
our heroes stand on foreign land to give us all the right,
to worry on the things in life that mean nothing at all,
instead of wondering if we will be the next to fall.
He looked at me as children do and said it's always right,
to thank the ones who help us and perhaps that we should write.
And so we pushed aside the bills and sat to draft a note,
to thank the many far from home, and this is what we wrote:
God bless you all and keep you safe, and speed your way back home.
Remember that we love you so, and that you're not alone.
The gift you give you share with all, a present every day,
You give the gift of liberty and that we can't repay.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Copyright 2003 Michael Marks:
"I freely submit this poem for reprint without reservation--this is an open and grateful tribute to the men and women who serve every day to keep our nation safe."
Very nice. I hope someone over in Iraq prints this out and shares it with our troops.
I foresee this beautiful poem getting a LOT of mileage. Thank you for posting it!
E-mailing right away!
Thanks for posting, SandRat.
Very touching.
poem ping
Thanks actually go to DremalMan from the Boy Scout WE4-11-04 Woodbadge Class, he sent the poem to me via the Woodbadge email address list. I'll pass your thoughts along to him.
Thanks for the headsup. I did have Kleenex at hand and made use of it.
Thanks for posting this......I love it.
What a wonderful poem. I'm going to send it to all my friends and relatives. Thanks for the post and Merry Christmas.
Bump!
Ping
Beautiful. Thanks for posting this.
Thank God for our heroes and their loved ones!
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A Merry Christmas SANTA C. Salute 2-All our HOLY Freedom Fighters:
http://www.lzxray.com/Ronnie3.jpg
(Photo)
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I hope you have seen this.
Perhaps you can pass it on to all those on your Iraq ping list.
Beautiful poem bump!
SandRat,
I detect that you have a very soft heart. Thank you for thinking of me and others when you send out a ping about people doing something good for our troops or when you post good news about our troops.
I'm taking this poem, fixing up the fonts and colors, and printing it out to include in the Christmas cards to the troops at Walter Reed. Thanks for posting it.
thanks for the beautiful poem.
I know they'll get the message. I sent it to my daughter, who still has friends over there and ocasionally feels a pang of guilt because she's home and they are still there. She stays in touch.
That is beautiful. {sniff!} They will all be very close to my heart over Christmas.
I don't have an Iraq ping list (yeah, I probably should...), so I'm pinging someone who does.
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