Another Night before Christmas with a Twist

Twas the nite before Christmas and all through my town,

no one was excited, we all felt so down

Our guard unit deployed, with many other guys too

we had no Christmas spirit, we all felt so blue

The children were crying, they all missed their Dads

Moms tried to be cheery but were simply to sad

At the mall when the kids sat on Santa's broad lap,

they didn't ask for toys, just please bring Daddy back

My own son was gone, on his second tour

to a third world country I'd never thought of before.

I sent all of his gifts by priority box

and hoped they'd arrive on time and not lost

His stocking I filled with a soldier needs mix

wet wipes, and jerky and tubes of chap stick

I put up a tree trimmed in blue red and white,

and prayed he'd be safe this Christmas eve night

I sat up all evening felling sorry and sad

remembering other family times that we'd had

Suddenly a voice whispered down from above

don't worry my child, for your son I too love

I'm with him each day, while he serves far from home

Trust me sweet mother, he's never alone

I know what it's like to have a son far away

in a small foreign village on Christmas day

No place to call home, or to lay down his head

no heat, no food not even a bed

the first Christmas gifts brought him from afar

also came late, as they followed the star

Dear mother as you sit in your Christmas eve sorrow

filled with such loneliness, dreading tomorrow

I beg you to remember the first Christmas day

The Christ child I sent to show you the way

so Please, smile this evening as you remember the birth,

of a child in a manger I sent down to earth

Though this year you are sad, your boys far apart

You can be assured they've kept Christ in their hearts

I promise I'm with them as they wander afar

a constant companion as the moon or a star

Christmas wishes dear Mother I send from above

and know you and your sons are surrounded by LOVE>

Author: Vickie C. Proud Mom of an American Paratrooper who serves alongside my son in Afghanistan

Larry Arnone
San Francisco, Ca

AKA A Bluestardad (and I want to keep it that way)