The Night Before Christmas

"Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the House
Only damage control, scurried round like a mouse

The names on the lists, all stuffed into files
Crammed into drawers, hadn't been read in a while

The files were then flung, in the chimney...Who Cares!
There's no one alive, anymore, over there

The likes of the gentry, like Lord, Wold and Ross
Waited and waited, for the big man, the Boss

Then lo' in he walked, with Marines standing guard
It was time for the decision, it wouldn't be hard

"It's Christmas, it's Christmas, let's be of good cheer
Give the Vietnamese and Big Business, A Happy New Year"

"Let's make Mobil happy, Nike and Coke, too
Let's not forget GE, they should get a piece,too"

"To Hell with the Prisoners, the Missing, who cares!
The families and activists, they can go, you know where"

"Let's celebrate communism, bow to their demands
Who cares if we all, have blood on our hands"

"Shred the files, and the photos, throw the imagery out
The issue is finished, Hillary and I have no doubt"

"Tell the families to get on, with the lives that they waste
Tell the activists to find, a new issue ...make haste"

Then just as they laughed, slapped each other on the back
A ghostly apparition, turned everything black

The ghosts of Christmas Past, The Present and Yet To Be
Were lined in the hall, where the Marines used to be

In the Past they could see, a never ending war
with Prisoners and Missing, marching by the score

The sounds of rockets and bullets, shattered the still air
The way Clinton hit the deck, you knew he hadn't been there

In the Present they could see, the families as they wait
The friends and the caring, who still set a table place

The veterans who went, and were lucky to have come back
Marched and carried banners, then suddenly everything went black

For what was Yet To Be, filled the entire room
It drifted over their heads, and settled like a gloom

And all of a sudden, they saw the day they would die
There were people all around, but not one of them cried

The Marines stood guard, caissons rolled through the street
With drums and with pomp, and with shuffling of feet

On the day they were buried, not a soul cried
Only one man, stood with arms open wide

It was the Devil from Hell, and he grinned a big grin
As he opened the door, and welcomed them in

"Here's Nixon and Kissinger, Carter and Ford
Bush, Ross and Trowbridge, let's make room for more"

"I've been waiting for you all", he said with such ease
As he looked at his bounty, they could see he was pleased

"I've saved this special place, for you and all your friends
I've kept it nice and warm, you'll stay 'til time ends"

"It's just you and me boys, I'm sure that you won't care
If the families and veterans don't join us...Uh, they're Up There"

"I've prepared something special, to keep you busy through eternity
It's just a little something , a gift to you... from me"

"There's tens of thousands of pictures here, millions of reports for you to read
There's tons and tons of filing, boys, that I really, really need"

"You see... When you said they could go to hell, you didn't realize
A man can't be sent to hell twice, so instead they sent his files"

"The men and women you abandoned, went to heaven long ago
They had already been to hell, you all left them there you know"

"I wanted you to keep one last promise, I've waited all these years
And brought all the files and photographs, and kept them safely here"

"So you can spend eternity, with all the folks you know
Doing the job you should have done... 20 years ago"

Peace On Earth - Never Again...

A Happy, Healthy and Blessed Holiday and New Year...

Andi
AII POW-MIA