Poem written by a Marine contributed by Annette Greene

GREG KOONTTZ (ARMY) AND CRAIG W.(SERVED IN THE AIR FORCE)


MY DADDY SERVED THE (ARMY), (GREG ROSS (MARINES)
I KNOW YOU GUYS AS WELL AS MY DADDY WILL APPRECIATE THIS POEM MORE


THAN MOST, THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE DONE TO DEFEND OUR NATION


BLESSING TO ALL…..ANNETTE


T'WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, HE LIVED ALL ALONE,


IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.


I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,


AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.
I LOOKED ALL ABOUT, A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,


NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS, NOT EVEN A TREE.
NO STOCKING BY MANTLE, JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,


ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.


WITH MEDALS AND BADGES, AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,


A SOBERING THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND.


FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,


I'D FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER, ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.
THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING, SILENT, ALONE,


CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.


THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE, THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,


NOT HOW I PICTURED A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.
WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?


CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, THE FLOOR FOR A BED?


I REALIZED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,


OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.


SOON ROUND THE WORLD, THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,


AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.


THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,


BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS, LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.


I COULDN'T HELP WONDER HOW MANY LAY ALONE,


ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.


THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,


I DROPPED TO MY KNEES AND STARTED TO CRY.


THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,


'SANTA DON'T CRY, THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,


MY LIFE IS MY GOD, MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS.'

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,


I COULDN'T CONTROL IT, I CONTINUED TO WEEP.


I KEPT WATCH FOR A MOMENT, SO SILENT AND STILL


AND WE BOTH SHIVERED FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.


I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,


THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR SO WILLING TO FIGHT.


THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER, WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,


WHISPERED, 'CARRY ON SANTA, IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.'


ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH, AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.


MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.


This poem was written by a Marine.

Many Last Names

I heard you when you told my daddy you were gonna propose to me,
telling him you were a preacher,huh...more like supposed to be

Pulling out a ring asking if you could be my king
but it must have slipped your remembrance that I am a Queen

Marriage is til' death do us apart;not long enough for you to finish college,get a nine to five
so you can run off with your secretary
The funny thing about marriage,it's not the institution itself but the people in it that determines if it's Merry

Marriage is not my enemy.It's the one I'm married to;the one who is striving to Emotionally put an end to me

Marriage...it's not a toy possessed by a child who picks up,puts down,throws away or leaves laying around when they're done playing with it

It's not a drink you can pass around or send back to the barmaid or bartender cause you changed your mind or found another drink you'd like to sip

You comin' at me like it was the other way around
DON'T get it twisted;I didn't ask for your hand in marriage
so why am I the only one keeping house,changing dirty diapers,budgeting funds,meeting ends and pushing the baby carriage?

Wish I could work out at the gym,shoot pool,hang out at the track and shoot hoops with the fellas', stead' of being stuck here in a house with all the kids you left back here for me to take care of

Cause of half ass men like you,I'm a woman of Many Last Names
I go from playin' hard to get to playing for keeps
gettin' caught up...choosin' schemers as husbands
vowing forever you'd love me but ALL yall' was runnin' game

Now people want to come down hard on sisters
sayin' we got too much attitude,accusing us of being angry and bitter
Whatever...don't come at me with that BULL!
It's because of them so preach that crap to those Niggers

Yeah that's right...I said it
The term nigger means to be ignorant, lacking in knowledge
which illustrates them well since they didn't realize just what a GOOD thing they had
and now ALL of This...is up for grabs

Now I got people meddling,tryin' to figure out when or if AGAIN my last name has changed;but just you never mind yourself about that.
Oh,and in case anybody should ask,you be sure you tell them STRENGTH is my middle name!

Think Before You Drink

We who live in the United States often take clean water for granted. Our government on all levels from federal, state, region and county for the most part have resources in places to ensure that we have clean water to cook with, bathe in and drink whether it is from the tap or bottled and processed at some plant. Sadly though we also are some of the most wasteful users of water who often  take clean water for granted when according to WHY WATER, http://www.charitywater.org/whywater/, “almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. That’s one in eight of us.” Almost one sixth of our planets population, are you one of them, probably not if you’re reading this blog.
Think before you take your next drink of water.
Let the palate of your pen and the fingers of your hand become a source of change in the water policies before you become one of eight people without clean water to cook with, bathe with and drink.

Stand for an International Water Treaty to Provide Clean Water Everywhere
Blog Action Day 2010---WATER

By Alfred Harrell October 15, 2010

Plan Z

Never will I be your plan A
The one you can't forget,thinking back on how you let her get away

Your Plan B will not be me
She's the one you creap wit',cheat wit'
From her you'll git' what you came to git'
then you'll get up and leave, going home to your woman who you plan your day around,
eat your meals wit',pray for,lie down and go to sleep wit'

Plan C is the one from whom you are lucky if you recieve more than just a kiss.
She is not the one you call to say that it's her you miss

Excuse me but have we met?
Allow me to introduce myself, I am your Plan Z.
The last letter in the alphabet.
Many letters have come before me but there are none after me.
No I was not your beginning
I was not in your middle but I am your end
more than just your lover,more than just your friend
You cannot complete the alphabet without Z
You cannot be complete without me
Allow me to introduce myself...
I am your Plan Z.

Damaged Goods

I stand here before you presenting myself to you as Damaged Goods
asking you to see inside my soul
past my hurt and pain,shelter me from my private shame
Take my hand and I'll lead you to a mountain's peak
where only the strongest of women have stood
You see...there's character building that comes with being labeled as Damaged Goods.
My past has shaped my present
My present is molding my future
Beauty is vain,youth is a luxury,fools are plentiful but wisdom does not rebuke her
I've built up this wall round about me
and around the brick wall I put up a barbwire fence;daring anyone who tried to get in.
Then here you came with your hacksaw and bulldozer tearing down MY fence
removing my wall brick by brick with your gentle hands
We fell in adoration and rose up to love before either of us at the other could catch a glance
You tore down my Berlin Wall without my permission
but now that you're here I don't want you to leave
I admit it's going to take some time for me to fully submit myself to you
before I can play my part in the plan for your life's vision
but I will...slowly but surely I will stretch out,kick my feet up,let my hair fly free and lay back blind folded resting my trust upon the big,comfy,plush,overstuffed couch that is you.
I will relax in your embrace
I will toss my fears to the wind which will cast them to a far away unknown place.
But for now,I reside in the familiarity of my own home,my safe haven,my comfort zone.
You have yet to whole-heartedly trust me
cause you've been hurt,you're still dealing with past issues that causes you to have hang ups too
So how can I whole-heartedly trust you?;but I swear to you that I will try.
I will write off my reservations and on a pedestal I will place you high.
I will wait for you while you wait for me
One heart will heal the other
Together we will learn to trust eachother.
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An Inspirational Chat With Tshombe the Poet

An Inspirational Chat With Tshombe the Poet