THE SANDS OF CHRISTMAS~~~ Will make you cry!!!

THE SANDS OF CHRISTMAS
>By Michael Marks
>
>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."

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