Glurge: U.S. serviceman's poem describes a soldier's lonely night before Christmas.
Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2006]
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, A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old, For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift, Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag, "So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright, |
Origins: Like the much-circulated piece "The Soldier's Night Before Christmas," this poem, also ostensibly written by a
Internet-circulated copies of "A Different Christmas Poem" are often attributed to a
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.
Last updated: 26 November 2006