From the human compassion of a fallen soldier,
To the love of a soldier’s mother

The very idea, created in memory cast
An idea that would pass through hundreds of hands

From the colourful threads, of many a ball
A knitted doll called Izzy is born again

The doll that has breached, so many a distant border
A journey so far, not many can comprehend

Each story so different than the other,
Each resolve, always the same

The Woolen Smiles that are created,
Are just not from the children who receive them

The love from those who create them
Passes through our very hands, before passed to another

It is the creator’s dedication and love,
That the soldiers feel and possess

A strengthening of spirits
And memories frozen in time, that will last forever

A testament to the goodness that still exists
In each and everyone of us

Their simple gestures are not only a dedication to our fallen
But to the living as well

The support of a quiet nation,
That each and every soldier feels.

Author’s Notes

This poem is dedicated to the late Carol Isfeld, the mother of Master Corporal Isfeld and to all those ladies who have created so many smiles across the world.

I have handed out over 700 Izzy dolls in my career to date and just wanted to honour the hundreds and hundreds of ladies who have taken time out of their busy lives to honour not only our fallen soldiers, but to allow your soldiers of the Canadian Forces to spread the true meaning of what being a soldier is all about.

A simple idea and gesture were nurtured between a mother and a son, out of compassion and caring. That idea has passed through your hands, back into your soldier’s hands.

If there was one wish I could give you in return, it would be for you all to experience not only the smile of a child, but the smile you created in the life of a soldier. In a world so consumed by hatred, there is always time to smile. Thank you for allowing me to smile.