A reminder of lives lived, lost, and honored
Cast your mind back to the First World War, to the devastated landscapes left in its wake. Amid the desolation, something remarkable happened. Red poppies grew and bloomed. Their vibrant color paints a stark contrast against the bleakness surrounding the cross marking the fallen.
Across the barren battlefields of Europe, life found a way to reclaim its place, offering a glimmer of beauty amidst the tragedy.
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian soldier and doctor, wrote In Flanders Fields, a hauntingly beautiful poem to immortalize his experiences from the Second Battle of Ypres in Flanders, Belgium.
McCrae’s close friend, Alexis Helmer, was killed in the battle on May 2, 1915. Taking on the solemn duty, McCrae personally carried out the burial service. Amid the solemnity, he observed how poppies had begun to sprout around the graves of those who had fallen. The sight moved him deeply.
The very next day, he penned down the verses of the now-iconic poem while sitting in the back of an ambulance stationed at an Advanced Dressing Station on the outskirts of Ypres.
In Flanders Fields
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 poppies, standing tall amongst the gravestones, are not just symbols of remembrance but also of hope and resilience. They remind us that even in the most desolate times, beauty bloom, and life persist.
Every Memorial Day, countless individuals wear a red poppy as a tribute to the brave souls who made the ultimate sacrifice.
While we may not be able to tread the fields of Flanders ourselves, donning a poppy allows us to carry a piece of that legacy with us, no matter where we are.
Remember
Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In Flanders fields
The Flanders Poppy is a silent call to hold onto the memories of those we’ve lost and to appreciate the freedom their sacrifices have afforded us.
It asks us not only to look back with gratitude but to move forward with hope, just as the poppies bloomed amidst the destruction.
On this Memorial Day, let’s take a moment to honor those who have gone before, to appreciate the sacrifices made and the freedoms won.
In the theater of war— friends, enemies, men who were strangers, and men who, in another lifetime, might have been neighbors, brothers, or allies — battled.
When death arrived and loved ones buried, poppies took root, flourishing in soil nourished by their ultimate sacrifice. The unceasing bombing stirred the soil, bringing dormant seeds to the surface and exposing them to life-giving light. Fertilized by the nitrogen in the explosives and lime from the rubble of shattered buildings, these common poppies thrived.
Their haunting beauty emerged from a backdrop bearing beneath its surface a history steeped in destruction and sorrow.
Today, whether we stand before this vivid landscape in our minds or witness it in person, pray for peace for people of all nations – No More War.
