Friday, July 3, 2009

{4th of July Greetings}


Happy 4th of July!
Below is a poem a friend sent, that I would like to share....

I watched the flag
Pass by one day,
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men
Like him had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves ?
No, freedom isn't free!
I heard the sound of Taps One night,
When everything was still,
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That Taps had meant 'Amen,'
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
with interrupted lives.
I Thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.
Enjoy Your Freedom
& God Bless Our Troops!

14 comments:

Dawn said...

That is a beautiful poem. It brought tears to my eyes reading it!

Happy 4th to you and your family!

take care,
Dawn

southerninspiration said...

Wow.....
Happy 4th to you and yours as well.

Suzanne

Suzann said...

Lovely.

Happy 4th to you and yours!!!

onlymehere said...

What a beautiful thought for this Independence Day!

GARAGE SALE GAL said...

Hi Rhonda,
I love your 4th of July tablescape!!and appreciate your budget decorating ideas!! Thanks for sharing them. Do you have a "follower" thingy???I'd be one of your followers!
Happy 4th!
Warmly,
Deb :)

Stacey said...

Hi Rhonda. That was a perfect poem for this important day. I have to tell you..we went to a funeral a couple of weeks ago for a friend who passed away. He was a long time Army man and in the Army band. Taps was played at his funeral by three tubas. It was an amazing tribute.

Ceekay-THINKIN of HOME said...

Love your post and it is so true....Happy 4th to you and your family.

Vee said...

A very meaningful poem...thank you for posting it. The fallen life is one life interrupted, but to think of all the lives touched...the cost of freedom becomes even higher, still I'll take freedom every time. Our freedom was bought and paid for and continues to be...yet so many scorn it, including those at the very highest levels of government. It gives one pause.

Enjoy your holiday weekend, Rhonda!

Printersdevil said...

Beautiful poem and tribute to our servicepeople. TFS

Since you are a tablescaper lover, I wanted to share my Christmas in July info with you.

I am hosting a Christmas in July Tablescape Party at my Playing Dishes blog. There will be one held each Saturday this month. Please come and participate or at least visit. A holiday tablecloth will be given away on the last Saturday, July 25. Info on signups is available by clicking my sidebar memes available on both my blogs.

I am also having a weekly Christmas giveaway at my Christmas Memories in My Heart blog. Weekly entries are closed out a midnight on Wednesday for this.

Hopefully some of you tablescape regulars will pull together a tablescape for CIJ or pull out some photos from last year to post.

Happy CIJ!

Beverly said...

Rhonda, that was lovely. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

I hope you are enjoying the holiday weekend.

Justabeachkat said...

So very true...freedom isn't free! God bless our hereos.

Hugs!
Kat

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Rhonda, that was beautiful, and yes, God bless our troops!

XO,

Sheila :-)

Southern Lady said...

I loved the poem, Rhonda. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Best wishes for a wonderful Vacation Bible School. I'm sure it will be with you as the director.

Beth at Aunties said...

Loved the poem and it hit a tender spot of gratitude with tears.

Enjoy your blogging break !:-)