remembering
Published 1 year ago in My life.Naturally, I would have like to have posted this on Sunday but Nook is so unreliable that I have posted it today in the hope that it will appear by Sunday! A small tribute of my own with apologies and acknowledgements to John McCrae who crafted the original and Moina Michael who penned the original response.
In Flanders Fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark their place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
And, now, not hear the guns below.
The rows of dead; long years ago
They lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow.
Loved and were loved; and now they lie
Beneath a peaceful, azure sky
In Flanders Fields
Wherever right must take a stand,
From jungles green to desert sands,
From Long Tan to Afghanistan,
In near or distant foreign lands
We took the quarrel to the foe;
From failing hands we caught the torch.
We hold it high so they might know
In peace they rest, whilst poppies blow
In Flanders Fields
We hope our children never know
The pain, the misery and the woe
Of losing family, sons and daughters
Amidst the bombs, the shells, the slaughter
Of Flanders Fields
We cherish still the poppy red
That grows again where heroes bled.
We keep the faith with those who died,
Who now with former comrades bide
In Flanders Fields
For all who paid the greatest price,
Who made the final sacrifice.
This day, with pride, the poppy red
We wear in honour of all our dead.
7 Responses to “remembering”
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Well said, and rightly posted.
I will remember
john
it would be nice that as apart of remebering them we actually learnt something…..alas, I fear that will never be the case.
Lest We Forget
It is sad that some people will see this day as a glorification of war. They could not be more wrong. Fathers and sons believed what they were told and left their farms, their homesteads, their offices, their jobs and their families. They left to join others in order to protect exactly what they had left behind: home, family and country. I think it’s fair to say that many did not think they would have to kill anyone; that the sheer show of force would dissuade anyone. Sadly this was not to be the case: not then and not now.
Whatever the politics you cannot blame a man for wanting to protect his own. They believed their cause was just and their memory should be honoured in the same way.
The world would be a different place without their sacrifice.
Lest We Forget.
Near and dear to my heart. I have my grandfathes diary- written in the trenches at the front- in his own hand.
One day, i will publish it. It was- as he told it, an incredible experience. There were incredibly civilised moments- declaring a temporary peace to collect their wounded and dead, exchanging gifts at christmas YES, THE AUSSIES DECLARED A TRUCE AND SHARED THE MEAGRE POSSESSIONS WITH THE FOES.
Yep, gotta publish it.
shadowmaster
Dr Fell, youve educated me, I of course knew the first verse, but not the rest. Thanks for taking the time to share.
Mon plaisir, winnierose. My feeble doggerel stands in pale comparison to the original but I do enjoy sharing. In fact, if it hadn’t been for what some people see as my ‘weakness’ I might have become a mentor of some sort…..
My kids asked why they needed to be quiet for 60 seconds. I told it was to think about and thank people who had done good things for them just because they could and thought they should. They’re three and five and got it no worries. They were both silent and solemn.
Remebrence is about celebrating selfless sacrifice, not glorifying war. To remember, to be thankful and to hope, collectively, that the sacrifices can stop.
I think.
I could be wrong.