On this holiday weekend as we officially start summer I want to remember why we celebrate Memorial Day. This moving poem reminds us of the sacrifice of the men and women who answer the call of their country.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae (1872-1918) may seem out of place in the distinguished company of World War I poets, but he is remembered for what is probably the single best-known and popular poem from the war, "In Flanders Fields." He was a Canadian physician and fought on the Western Front in 1914, but was then transferred to the medical corps and assigned to a hospital in France. He died of pneumonia while on active duty in 1918 at the age of 46.
Hi Marti,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice comment on my blog. This poem has been a favorite of mine since I was a child- we grew up watching Daddy in the VFW Ritual team and this poem was one of the stations in the ritual. I also posted this on Veterans Day on my blog with a collage I had made. In high school I was an art major and I did a painting of Flanders Fields for art class. It is moving and should remind us all of what today means!
Hugs from me!
Linda