| Somewhere in the Distance |  |
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Somewhere in a distant zone
Some mortar shells explode
A Humvee engine's undertone
Fades faintly down the road,
A sudden burst of rapid fire
Echoes in a soldiers' ears
Glowing tracer rounds inquire
Positions of these volunteers.
Somewhere in a distant ville
A family eats their Christmas meal
Safe inside from winter's chill
Far away from rebel's zeal.
The peace and freedom guarantor,
Protector of our blessed borders
Affords them haven from the war
And from all the world's disorders.
Somewhere in some lost local
A barefoot lass walks hand-in-hand
With some soldiers' high school pal,
Along the river, in the sand.
She swore that she would wait for him
But now she feels so lost inside
The lonely and unbridled whim
Caused true emotions to elide.
The soldier felt an empty pain
Today at mail-call in the zone
He stood there in the drizzling rain
Cold and lonely to the bone.
Today he felt especially sad
That he could not participate
In warmth and love of tidings glad
A price he pays to liberate.
Somewhere in some distant church
As congregants sing Christmas tunes
Each one has their soul to search
On what the soldiers life impugns.
Here they sing of peace and joy
Of goodwill and the Christmas gift
But in the zone where troops deploy
Glad tidings take a downward shift.
The doves denounce the throes of war
And fast forget why they are free
The soldier unlocks freedom's door
And eliminates tyranny.
Thus war is an empowerment
To transfer rule from one to all
To cause a shift in government
And bring to pass the tyrant's fall.
Somewhere in some peaceful land
While freedom's children romp and play
Their parents in daily routine
Go placid through their day.
Not long ago there was a brush
With brutish terror in their realm
They saw the adversary crush
The door no foe could overwhelm.
In former wars man never knew
The terror he could wield
A way the weak could fight the strong
Protected by clandestine's shield.
The leveling of the towers,
The bombing of the pentagon
Tore down the sacred safety net
Like ancient prophesies of John.
But on this day they humbly pray
For peace and harmony
They're mildly thankful for the boy
Who fights afar in irony.
For those same freedoms they enjoy
Within their deeply rooted laws
That blankets them in safe comfort
And fends the foe with eagles' claws.
Somewhere in some ravaged land
While terror's children romp and play
Their parents watch in constant fear
Of terror's harsh foray.
The marks, etched in their memories,
Of war-torn death and doom
Lay waste on homes and villages
Where flowers cease to bloom.
The soldier has an obscure sense
Of why he came so far to fight
He fully knows the cause is just
Yet doubts that locals think he's right.
He has an innate sense of pride
But pride can't instill confidence
In people who have lived for years
In oppression and pestilence.
But on this day of Christmas Tide
The soldier feels an emptiness
In visions of loved ones back home
His loneliness to acquiesce.
His thoughts, in deep bewilderment,
Can't seem to grasp why, on this day,
Of "Peace on earth, goodwill to men"
The world still lives in disarray. | By Don Groninger
Copyright 2008
Listed November 28, 2008 |
It is illegal to use this poem without the author's permission.
~~ Send your comments and/or use permission request to
Don. ~~ |
