A Different Christmas Poem

I found this is the weekly newspaper from a small town in Western Illinois. First time I've seen it. Perhaps others have already read it. It is worth repeating:

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The embers glowed softly and in their dim light,

I gazed round the room and 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,

complete 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,

but I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.

Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quire know,

then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,

I crept to the door to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,

Alone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,

perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

Alone in the dark, he looked and smiled,

standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,

"Come in the moment, it's freezing out here."

Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,

you should be home on a cold Christmas Eve."

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,

away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts,

to the window that danced with a warm fire's light.

Then he sighed and he said, "It's really all right,

I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.

"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 to beg or implore me,

I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me

My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December.

Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas Gram always remembers."

"My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam,

and now it is my turn and so here I am.

"I've not seen my 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 this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,

your family is waiting and I'll be alright."

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."

Then his eye welled up a tear that held no regret,

"Just tell us you love us, and never forget,

to fight for our rights back home while we're gone,

to stand your 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 matter to us.