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.
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."
by
Michael
Marks
©Copyright
December
7,
2000
Author’s
Note:
A
Soldier's
Christmas
was
the
first
in
this
series
of
patriotic
writings,
drafted
on
Pearl
Harbor
Day
2000
when
in
the
wake
of
the
2000
Presidential
Election
our
nation
saw
the
right
of
US
Armed
Forces
personnel
openly
questioned
and
debated.
I
felt
it
unconscionable
that
at
the
onset
of
the
Christmas
season,
those
serving
to
defend
our
nation
would
hear
anything
but
our
love
and
support.
It
is
our
challenge
to
stand
for
their
rights
at
home
while
they
stand
for
our
lives
and
safety
overseas.
This
poem
went
out
and
quickly
spread
around
the
world
in
emails,
letters,
magazines.
I
received
letters
from
Marines
in
Bosnia,
soldiers
in
Okinawa,
from
a
submariner
who
xeroxed
a
copy
for
everyone
on
his
sub.
Moms
wrote,
dads,
brothers
and
sisters.
I
have
saved
and
cherish
every
letter
and
set
out
to
continue
writing
throughout
the
year.