Today is a solemn occasion around the world. Whether you honor Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, or Veteran’s Day here in the States, we remember those who have served and continue to serve and say thank you for all you have done and all that you continue to do and sacrifice so that the rest of us may enjoy our freedoms. On days like these, only poetry will properly serve, so I give you one of the most famous WWI masterpieces of poetry: In Flanders Fields.
In Flanders Fields – Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, 1915
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.
