Dedicated To All Military Troops Everywhere


 
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."
~ Michael Marks ~


Merry Christmas and a safe New Year
to all troops so far from home!
May God bless and keep you safe.

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