A Soldier Comes Home

He listens carefully to every sound.
He learns to keep an ear to the ground.
He does his duty in all kinds of weather,
And war and sleep do not go together.

Of battlefields, the soldier grows weary.
Oft times the outlook is very dreary,
But then his mind begins to roam
To happy scenes and thoughts of home.

With life so fragile from day to day,
The soldier doth all his priorities weigh.
Though terrors of war may take their toll,
Going home is the number one goal.

The plane lands at an American base.
A soldier departs with a smile on his face.
He exits the plane with a leap and a bound.
Then he kneels down and kisses the ground.

A Christian soldier stays on the alert.
He serves his Savior and does not desert.
He serves through trials, sorrows, and woe.
Victory comes through Christ who loves us so.

Battling temptations from day to day,
That soldier gets weary along the way.
Then happy thoughts of home may loom,
And victory seems to swallow the gloom.

He knows it will be worth it all
When before his Savior he will fall,
Because that soldier was saved by grace,
He'll go home to see Jesus face to face.

This poem was a finalist in the May 2012 poetry contest