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
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13 comments:
As I just mentioned on another post, this is a poem that nearly every Canadian school child knows by heart. It wouldn't be Remembrance Day without it.
It's a bittersweet but lovely poem, isn't it?
=)
I memorized that poem in grade school and was chosen to recite it at the school assembly one year. I've remembered it ever since.
It's important to remember.
What a beautiful poem. Of course I asked the resident historian if he had heard it before, "Yes, World War I." Gotta love my veteran, thanks for sharing cuz!
Beautiful Jenny!
A Poem written in reply to John McCrae by Miss Moira Micheal (1915)
"We shall Keep the Faith"
Oh! You who sleep in Flanders’ fields,
Sleep sweet – to rise anew;
We caught the torch you threw;
And holding high we kept
The faith with those who died.
We cherish, too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valour led.
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders’ Fields.
And now the torch and poppy red
Wear in honour of our dead
Fear not that ye have died for naught
We’ve learned the lesson that ye taught
In Flanders’ Fields
Thanks for posting this... that cross, sigh... so we can all remember! HUGS!
thanks Jenny. I needed a little dose of what today is for.
xoxo
vivian
Beautiful, this poem is so sad but it is a favorite of mine. Hugs to you and I hope I can see you in Arizona this coming week! Anne
So many graves, so many memories - Flanders, Ypres, The Somme...
What a price!
Beautiful poem ... it is one of my favourites ... And like Pondside, I've known that poem since i was knee high to a grasshopper ...
It is such a poignant piece of writing made more so when we saw it in Flanders Fields.
How wonderful to see so many in blogland "keeping the faith" yesterday! ~ Maureen
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