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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.
— Lt. Col. John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
In memory of Cpl. Bert Whitehurst (1895-1918)
Cpl. Bert Whitehurst
(1895-1918)
Thanks, Illiniguy.
I’m so moved every time you post this.
I love that poem. I also get choked up when I read R. W. Lilliard’s response:
America’s Answer
Rest ye in peace, ye Flanders dead.
The fight that ye so bravely led
We’ve taken up. And we will keep
True faith with you who lie asleep
With a cross to mark his bed,
In Flanders Fields.
Fear not that ye have died for naught.
The torch ye threw to us we caught.
Ten million hands will hold it high,
And Freedom’s light shall never die!
We’ve learned the lesson that ye taught
In Flanders Fields.
Me, too.
Thank you for posting that, Henry. I don’t believe I’ve read it before. Very moving, and an appropriate response to the original In Flanders Fields.
In Afghan Fields
By Mike Rentner
In Afghan fields the poppies grow
In alluvial plains where no people go,
Devoid of rocks and dirt is dry
Where even birds are scarce to fly
But wells bring water from below.
They score the bulbs and scrape the tar
Buckets are mucked and sold afar,
An offering to the god of dreams
Enslaving men in his schemes
Delivering demons’ oily lucre.
In aeons past did Ares slay
But now his terror is passe
Morpheus is raison d’etre
His addiction for the world to share
That’s how they fund the wars today
In Afghan fields.
If you haven’t been to the WW1 Memorial Museum in Kansas City, you need to go! The first time we went, there was a mini-meet up of Ricochetti held there. We spent hours viewing the exhibits. We took a friend the second time and spent the whole day. We want to go back again. Walking over the clear glass bridge over the 9,000 poppy field under it is very sobering, as each flower represents 10,000 dead. Nine million people died in that war.
Agreed!! I have been there two or three times and it is one of the finest museums I’ve ever been to.