In Flanders Field
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.
www.firstworldwar.com/poetsandprose/inflandersfields.htmOne of the most asked questions is: why poppies? The answer is simple: poppies only flower in up-rooted soil. Their seeds can lie on the ground for years and years, and only when someone roots up the ground, they will sprout. There was enough rooted up soil on the battlefield of the Western Front; in fact the whole front consisted of churned up soil. So in May 1915, when McCrae wrote his poem, around him poppies blossomed like no one had ever seen before. 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 keptThe faith with those who died.We cherish, too, the Poppy redThat grows on fields where valour led.It seems to signal to the skiesThat blood of heroes never dies,But lends a lustre to the redOf the flower that blooms above the deadIn Flanders’ Fields.And now the torch and poppy redWear in honour of our deadFear not that ye have died for naughtWe’ve learned the lesson that ye taughtIn Flanders’ Fields
