Saturday, May 22, 2010

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.


Just a reminder that, while it may well be my most disliked "holiday", the poppies the VFW vets sell do go to help those who, unlike the dead, have not yet seen an end to war.

And that my little girl is the cutest thing ever. Wears her poppy well, don't you think?

(Crossposted at MilPub)

3 comments:

Lisa said...

Very cute adornment, and thank you for the reminder.

I remember as a little girl my mother purchasing the poppies and explaining to me what they meant. I hope that parents do the same thing today.

FDChief said...

Lisa: When I gave it to her she said: "Pretty! Why you get this flower?"

Me: "Because it is a way to remember all our friends who died in wars far away."

Little Miss: "Why they die?"

Me: "Because...umm...it seemed like a good reason at the time."

Meghan H said...

The national WWI museum in Kansas City has a display at the entrance of 9,000 poppies, each one representing 1,000 people who didn't survive that war. It's an arresting symbol, esp. in that quantity. See it at http://www.theworldwar.org/s/110/new/index.aspx?sid=110&gid=1&pgid=1044

Not a very good photo -- it's disturbing to see in person.