Steve Imbesi, one of my scuba diving buddies, sent me this Christmas poem a year or two ago. It circulates via email around this time every year, usually incorrectly attributed. It’s a wonderful poem by Michael Marks that deserves another read by us all.
A SOLDIER’S CHRISTMAS by Michael Marks
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. …