Pour me a cup

Of yesterdays,

Put in a teaspoon

Of the sun's rays.

Stir in the colors

Of the Rainbow,

Which follows the storm,

And the waters below.

Add the memories

Of our youth,

And the companions

Of Truth

Sip the elixir slowly

As we converse

About our youthful days,

So near our birth.

Pour in the excess

Into the thermos of tomorrow,

Wherein we again may express,

The journey of present sorrow.

When the thermos is empty,

And we talk about the past;

We will use our memories,

As long as they shall last.

At the VA just yesterday,

In Albuquerque's town,

I saw memories of war

In the eyes of old men,

As together we sat down.

It was for Freedom

That we gave our youth,

And now we sip that elixir

From the Cup of Truth.

We do not seek your pity,

Now that we're old;

Just think of us as Vets

Who have come in from the cold.

We have not forgotten Freedom,

Nor the waving of the flag;

And we'd fight again from wheelchairs,

Even though our torsos now sag.

So, come and have a

Cup of Yesterday with me,

All of you who fought

Upon the Land or upon the sea.

America, we invite you,

To see what war has done.

Just pay a visit to a VA hospital

And see the price of Freedom won!

Sit down with a Vet,

Share a cup of yesterday;

Talk a bit of Freedom,

And then get up and walk away!

But as you walk away,

There are others who must stay,

For memories hold us fast,

And we cannot walk away.

God bless America,

Land of the Brave.

Stand and salute the flag,

And long may she wave!

Here today,

Gone tomorrow;

No more pain,

No more sorrow!

On heaven's shore,

We'll forget all sorrow,

And drink not from the cup of yesterday,

But from the Cup of Tomorrow!

Copyright © C. Douglas Caffey
All Rights Reserved