The Marine stood and faced God,
\n Which must always come to pass.
\n He hoped his shoes were shining,
\n Just as brightly as his brass.
\n‘Step forward now, Marine,
\n How shall I deal with you?
\n Have you always turned the other cheek?
\n To My Church have you been true?’
\nThe soldier squared his shoulders and said,
\n ‘No, Lord, I guess I ain’t.
\n Because those of us who carry guns,
\n Can’t always be a saint.
\nI’ve had to work most Sundays,
\n And at times my talk was tough.
\n And sometimes I’ve been violent,
\n Because the world is awfully rough.
\nBut, I never took a penny,
\nThat wasn’t mine to keep…..
\nThough I worked a lot of overtime,
\n When the bills got just too steep.
\nAnd I never passed a cry for help,
\nThough at times I shook with fear…
\nAnd sometimes, God, forgive me,
\n I’ve wept unmanly tears.
\nI know I don’t deserve a place,
\nAmong the people here.
\nThey never wanted me around,
\n Except to calm their fears
\nIf you’ve a place for me here, Lord,
\nIt needn’t be so grand.
\nI never expected or had too much,
\n But if you don’t, I’ll understand.
\nThere was a silence all around the throne,
\nWhere the saints had often trod.
\nAs the Marine waited quietly,
\n For the judgment of his God.
\n‘Step forward now, you Marine,
\nYou’ve borne your burdens well.
\nWalk peacefully on Heaven’s streets,
\n You’ve done your time in Hell.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Marine stood and faced God,
\n Which must always come to pass.
\n He hoped his shoes were shining,
\n Just as brightly as his brass.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-detachment"],"yoast_head":"\n