This Poem was Submitted By: Jennifer Arlene Gasper On Date: 2001-02-18 11:31:03 . . . Click Here To Mail this Poem to a Friend!

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Christmas on the LZ

'Twas the night before Christmas, quiet on the LZ.      Some soldiers on guard, some catchin' Z's. No 16's firing, no cartridges spent,      Rain falin' lightly on make-shift tents. It's a time when differences should be set aside,       still there are ambushes; Each soldier trying to hide, to survive. To the unknowing it's hard to explain.      It's a time of peace...a time of pain. Some will live, others will die;      Politics and greed most likely why! They hump the bush, they wade through the streams,      Yesterday's a memory, "the WORLD'S" a faded dream. The sight, the sound, the smell,       "fit in" or it will become a living hell. No worry, no sweat, it don't mean nothin',      Just keep movin, keep on humpin'. In a land forgotten by some,      You're sweatin', cursin', carryin' that gun. While back in "the WORLD", the land of plenty,      people gettin' together, most with family. But you keep pickin' 'em up, you keep puttin' 'em down,      hopin' to make it back to your home town. Can you forget, can you adjust?      Society has judged you, on that you can trust! The change will be sudden, like a mortar in the night.      Back in "the WORLD" won't make you all right. You'll smile and laugh, thinkin'"This is all right!"      But you've walked a different path of what is wrong-what is right! Some will adjust, some will go on,      leaving behind their weapon's rythmic song. Others will stumble, barely movin' along;      Still held by that land, it's affect still strong. This time of the season, of our Savior's birth,      Pray for these men, that they find Peace on Earth. If they seem distant, not "with it" today,      don't tell them you understand, tell them it's ok. They need a kind friend, in their life of struggle,      whether a tear, a hug, or maybe a chuckle. Pray for the veteran, his family, his sons,      No more war, No dying young men. For our Savior paid the price,      God's only Son; that there be Peace on Earth,   Good will toward ALL men, wouldn't that THAT be nice!      

Copyright © February 2001 Jennifer Arlene Gasper

Additional Notes:
There are many contractions in the work and are intended by the author. "the WORLD" is stressed by the author and is deliberate. It refers to the United States.


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