T'was the night before Christmas,
He lived all
alone,
In a one bedroom house,
Made of plaster and stone.
I had
come down the chimney,
With presents to give,
And to see just who,
In
this home did live.
I looked all about,
A strange sight I did
see,
No tinsel, no presents,
Not even a tree.
No stocking by the
mantle,
Just boots filled with sand,
On the wall hung pictures,
Of far
distant lands.
With medals and badges,
Awards of all kinds,
A sober
thought,
Came through my mind.
For this house was different,
It was
dark and dreary,
I found the home of a soldier,
Once I could see
clearly.
The soldier lay sleeping,
Silent, alone,
Curled up on the
floor,
In this one bedroom home.
The face was so gentle,
The room
in such disorder,
Not how I pictured,
A Canadian soldier.
Was this
the hero,
Of whom I'd just read?,
Curled up on a poncho,
The floor for
a bed?
I realized the families,
That I saw this night,
Owed their
lives to these soldiers,
Who were willing to fight.
Soon round the
world,
The children would play,
And grownups would celebrate,
A bright
Christmas Day.
They all enjoyed freedom,
Each month of the
year,
Because of the soldiers,
Like the one lying here.
I couldn't
help wonder,
How many lay alone,
On a cold Christmas Eve,
In a land far
from home.
The very thought brought
A tear to my eye,
I dropped to
my knees,
And started to cry.
The soldier awakened,
And I heard a
rough voice,
'Santa, don't cry.
This life is my choice.
I fight for
freedom,
I don't ask for more,
My life is my God,
My country, my
corps.'
The soldier rolled over,
And drifted to sleep,
I couldn't
control it,
I continued to weep.
I kept watch for hours,
So silent
and still,
And we both shivered,
From the cold night's chill.
I
didn't want to leave,
On that cold, dark night,
This guardian of
honor,
So willing to fight.
Then the soldier rolled over,
With a
voice, soft and pure,
Whispered, 'Carry on Santa,
It's Christmas Day, all
is secure.'
One look at my watch,
And I knew he was right,
'Merry
Christmas my friend,
And to all a good night.'
This poem was written
by a peace keeping soldier stationed overseas.
The following is his
request, I think it is reasonable.
PLEASE. Would you do me the kind
favour of sending this to as many People as you can?
Christmas will be
coming soon and some credit is due to our Canadian service men and women for our
being able to celebrate these Festivities.
Let's try in this small way to pay
a tiny bit of what we owe.
Make People stop and think of our heroes,
living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.