Every May my flower garden begins its season with a glorious patch of Oriental Poppies. These translucent flowers are like crepe paper gracefully swaying in the wind. They’re beautiful.
And every year during their their short-lived bloom, I think of this famous poem by Canadian physician John McCrae. He wrote it while stationed in Flanders, Belgium, during Word War I.
On this Memorial Day, it’s a very fitting tribute to all who defend our freedom.
In Flanders Field by JOHN McCRAE
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.
I love this old poem. My grandmother said she had to memorize this in grade school and it’s always stuck with her. Now it reminds me of her.