Saturday, November 11, 2006

Remembrance Day

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

IN FLANDERS FIELDS 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

The day before he wrote "In Flanders Fields", one of John McCrae's closest friends was killed and buried in a grave decorated with only a simple wooden cross. Wild poppies were already blooming between the crosses that marked the graves of those who were killed in battle.

Unable to help his friend or other fallen soldiers, John McCrae gave them a voice through "In Flanders Field."

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Craziequeen, Michele sent me today.

"In Flanders Fields" is one of the few poems I could recite. Thanks for the history lesson, it makes me appreciate McCrae's words all the more.

Enjoy your weekend.

Bobkat said...

Hi Hon. Not here from Michele's but of my own volition 'cause I wanna!

Hope you are feeling more human now?

So good to see the whole poem. And so important that we DO remember.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Such a beautful touching poem...And what a beautiful Heartfelt Tribute CQ....!

I am reminded, too of "Where Have All The Flowers Gone"....that wonderful Pete Seegar song which I had the privelage of hearing Marlena Dietrich sing "live" in concert and was deeply deeply moved....!

I hope you are feling a little bit better, my dear..Do take good care of you!!!

Anonymous said...

hello michele sent me.

flanders fields and high flight

http://www.prazen.com/cori/highflit.html

I don't ever really think about them in any terms other than they were on the walls of just about every squadron wall somewhere. You just had to look around for a bit.

Wystful1 said...

this is one of my all time favorites...Flanders Fields!!

Anonymous said...

Hello I hope you are feeling better cq.

I changed all my afternoon planning yesterday so that my little ones could learn about rememberance day. They were buying the poppies and not knowing why!
Everyone needs to learn about this day.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Michele sent me back tonight---your morning!

Hope you are feeling somewhat better, my dear CQ!

Jean-Luc Picard said...

A wonderful tribute and poem, CQ. Have just watched Remembrance ceremony on tv.

Teena in Toronto said...

Thanks for remembering!

Uisce said...

thanks for sharing this poem.

it's nice that we all celebrate 11/11 in some way. but how ironic that the border lines that were drawn 88 years ago merely became battle lines... world war two, even present-day conflict in the middle east -- it all started with a war to end all wars that never really ended.