Ever had your muse just rear up and bite you HARD right out of the blue?
Photo available of the inspiration if enough people are interested.
"Sentinel on the Shelf"
On the top part of my bookshelf
Stand some certain souveniers;
A photo of my grandparents and a hat with Mickey ears,
An old award or two from contests ended long ago,
And a Lego Movie playset - 'cause it's AWESOME, don't you know?
But at the forefront of them all there stands a single soldier,
With rifle at the ready and his pistol in his holster.
His dogtags still say "G.I. Joe", his rank stripes haven't changed,
And everything he carries is exactly all the same.
He's served a tour of twenty years with me, his single owner,
From when I was a little child to now a bachelor and loner.
For something bade me bring him as I left my parents' home:
He stands for something greater than just memories alone.
On the little yellowed leaflet that came with him long ago,
Are printed two things every child in their heart ought to know:
A simple pledge that barely reaches one-and-thirty words -
Yet they have a simple power which demands that they be heard.
It bids one pledge alliegiance to a Republic and her flag,
And the things that make it more than just another colored rag.
To the God who made her great and then to justice one and all,
In defiance of her enemies who wish to make her fall.
It's propped up by the boots of that resilent little plastic soldier,
And it only grows with meaning as I've started growing older.
Most toys are only playthings that we try to keep in vain;
Joe stands for those whose day job has them facing death and pain.
No teddy bear freed captives from a concentration camp,
No Tonka trucks on D-Day drove down from a landing ramp.
No cap-gun felled an evil man who served just hate and greed,
No plastic doctor's toys have saved the life of one in need.
My Joe stood guard from thunderstorms and nightmares as a boy,
But the men he was inspired by make him more than a toy.
He reminds me of the giants on whose shoulders we all stand,
And depend for constant safety and for help to be on hand.
He stands guard even to this day in my apartment home,
And he'll follow me, his General, wherever I shall roam.
He'll smile when I bring home my bride with arms around her middle,
He'll stand attention when I bring little ones brand-new from the hospital.
Someday he might retire when I'm old and poor in health,
But for now he still stands tall and proud - my sentinel on the shelf.
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