It's not yet Christmas, but I wrote this during the first Gulf War and I am sorry it is still appropriate. I am a Vietnam era veteran.
Dear Santa
As children we would write to you,
Toys and games filled every list.
We promised all year we'd been good,
To be sure we'd not be missed.
But Santa, oh how thing have changed,
Now that all those years have passed.
Fears of war invade our dreams,
Has the apocalypse lot been cast?
All those eyes, once innocent and bright,
Now gaze across burning sand,
Will tomorrow pass just as today,
Or bring death in a foreign land?
So Santa, this letter has just one wish,
Which is shared by all around,
Let peace blanket all those souls,
And bring them home soon, safe and sound.
Troy, NY