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C. Douglas Caffey
Old Memories
(from an old WWII veteran)
From out of the past, they raise their ugly
head
to remind those living
of friends who
now are
dead.
Shouldn't memories of the past
be buried with sailors
who died at
sea
never remaining
free?
And soldiers or Marines
whose blood ran
red
and left them
dead
in foreign sands.
Should not their memories
lie with them in
the grave
when it was their lives
which they
Gave?
What about the airmen who
flew so high
and fell five miles
to die?
Those of us who yet are
alive
will ever remember
how they
died
and we shall bear the
memories
of brave American
men
until our lives shall
end!
So, come on Mares of the
Night
and we'll fight again
for Freedom
which is
right!
CHRISTMAS OF FORTY-FOUR
Christmas is both time and place.
It is both when and where,
Not just why and how,
With music in
the air!
Will you come back with me
To Christmas of forty-four?
The very last Christmas of the war,
When all
of us were boys no more.
From Saipan and Tinian
Come the sounds of thunder,
Of three-hundred B-29's,
Belching smoke by the
number.
Doesn't sound like "Silent Night",
Or the site of mistletoe,
With sleigh-bells ringing
In the scene
of falling snow!
No warm hugs of loved ones
Sitting round an open hearth,
And no angelic beings
Singing of Peace on
Earth!
How can we sing
Of Peace on Earth,
With the coming of a Savior,
And the miracle of His birth?
Remembering days gone by
When there were no 29's in the sky;
Those other days with Big Band Sounds
As
carolers make their rounds!
You remember that special girl,
Dressed in both red and green,
With that sparkle in her eyes,
A sparkle
you had never seen!
But where is she tonight,
This Christmas of forty-four;
No longer dress of green and red,
But a heavy
flak-suit instead?
No music do I hear,
Falling softly on my ear;
But the sound of 300 29's
Leaving runways, line on
line!
When this night is through
And the ships return to Saipan,
Why are ground crews looking west,
For
the return of all the rest?
Could it be that Peace on Earth,
Has finally come to a few,
Who, Christmas of forty-four,
Has finally
given rest?
Deck the hardstands with holly,
'Tis the season to be jolly!
Count the planes who return no more,
At
Christmastime in forty-four!
The Passing of Time
Do you ever wonder about
the passing of time and such?
How long is the life of a minute?
Only sixty seconds; that's not much.
But the minute you had
just a moment ago
is now gone from view;
Never to come back to you!
Have you forgotten it already?
What did it hold for you?
Did you allow it to pass quickly by
and you mind to go through?
Maybe we should hold a memorial
for each moment we lose.
You can prepare the Eulogy
and I'll pray, if you choose!
All our moments are lost
if we just allow them to go past
without gathering some jewels,
for living, which forever shall last!
Let us determine today that,
with each future minute,
that we'll not let it pass
without keeping something in it!
. . . C. Douglas Caffey
4-23-01
The Moving
Years
The moving of the years
come so swiftly on.
World War Two was here
but now, long since gone!
Yet the Pratt & Whitney
sounds are still here;
We hear them in our sleep
before the sun draws near!
The 29's once flown
by men of tender age,
have all disappeared
as youth turns to sage.
Heads have turned to silver
and some lay down to die,
gone with the moving years
to join the B-29's in the sky!
. . . C. Douglas Caffey
9-06-02
TOMORROW!
Tomorrow is always just
one day away from today,
though we know not
what it has to say.
Tomorrow always wears
a veil upon her face,
to keep us from knowing
How we'll run the race.
To those who walked
in Yesterday's shoes,
today, new tracks
we must choose!
To walk away from today,
brings tomorrow into view.
This I will gladly do
if I can walk with you!
Tomorrow comes quickly on
before today is fully through.
Tomorrow becomes today
when a "Pace-Maker" is a part of you!
Written from the Singing River Hospital the day before my wife was
to receive a "pace-maker" following a triple by-pass
just the week before.
C. Douglas Caffey . . .
C. Douglas Caffey
jonn316@comcast.net
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