This year I have added a second poem to our Christmas Greeting. The second poem is to remember all of those
Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who are laying themselves on the line so that the rest of us can
be with our family and friends. Let us not forget their sacrifice!
A Bladesmith’s...Twas the night before Christmas
Twas
the night before Christmas and all through the shop,
The
fire was roaring, the anvil was hot,
The
hammer was singing, the billets were white,
When
I heard a band of angels out in the night,
"Put down your hammer, put down your
tongs."
"Come bring your family and join the
song."
"For a day of rest, is granted to you.
Your toils redeemed, your vigor renewed."
"Remember this day, a King has been born,
to heal the sick and mend the torn.
"So come gather round with family and
friends, your labors today are now at an end."
Enjoy the season; be merry and bright, for
our Savior was born on this cold winter's night.
To show us the Joy, The Way, and The Light.
Ed Caffrey
2002
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.
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
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.
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!'
Away from the cold and the blown in drift..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light.
Then he sighed and he said 'Its really all right,
'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 '
Then he sighed, 'That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.'
My dad stood
his watch in the jungles of '
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 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.'
'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.'
May you know the love of
Family and Friends,
the warmth of home and hearth, and the joys of the season!
God Bless, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!!
From the Caffrey’s,
Ed, Cindy, & Mandi
