Rememberance Day Poem

[dandaman]

Rememberance Day

Since most people on this site are American (or English), I thought I'd say a Rememberance Day poem (which you guys call Veteran's Day), which you may or may not have heard. It was written in 1919 by John McRae, entitled "In Flander's 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.

 

[Tramp]

Beautiful poem and one of my favorites...

Here's another:

The HEART Of A Soldier

I met him at the Wall, that dark September day;
his eyes were clear and bright, although his hair was gray.
He wore a faded jacket, and as he knelt and prayed,
I looked in admiration at the medals there displayed.

Proud of my own new uniform, I stood straight and tall,
beside this older Veteran, now weeping at the Wall.

His hands seemed somehow faded, like the tiny flag they held.
He stumbled slightly as he rose; I now his cane beheld.

And as he looked at me, his eyes still filled with tears.
a smile of recognition came, despite my fewer years.

One glance at my chevron’d sleeve, another at my chest,
told him of my recent past, my face told him the rest.

“In Vietnam they said we lost;” deep pain now filled his eyes.
“But I remember, yes I remember, the agony and cries.”

“For many years I’ve kept this flag, and carried it with pride,
in mem’ry of our comrades there who fought and bled and died.”

“I tried to re-enlist,” he said, “They said I was too old.”
“And this old leg feels greater pain, ‘specially in the cold.”

My own eyes now filled with tears as he gave the flag to me.
“Carry this for all the others who died to keep us free.”

I think about that old Soldier, who passed to me the dream,
a’kneelin’ here with all my gear beside an Afghan stream.

I swear by all that’s holy that I will do my best,
to save the dream, then touch the flag now sown into my vest.

“Duty, honor, Country,” now becomes my creed,
I serve the cause of liberty, I ride sweet freedom’s steed.

As we remount, the rotors whir, o’er Afghan plains we fly,
I touch the flag and now recall, “Old Soldiers never die.”

By Forrest Lee Horn
Copyright 9/14/01


​

 

[barnum42]

A section from "For the Fallen" by Laurence Binyon

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

 

[FanofDinsey1981]

Since most people on this site are American (or English), I thought I'd say a Rememberance Day poem (which you guys call Veteran's Day), which you may or may not have heard. It was written in 1919 by John McRae, entitled "In Flander's 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.

For some reason, my french film professor read us this poem in class, I don't remember if it had something to do with a film or not though. I do remember him being very passionate about it, I find it to be a very powerful poem. Thank you.

 

[dandaman]

It's nothing about a film. "In Flanders Fields" was written by a Canadian, John McRae, in 1915 (false info on first post).
P.S. Do Americans wear poppies on Veteran's Day? I should know this, I have grandparents across the way in Detroit...

 

[Tramp]

It's nothing about a film. "In Flanders Fields" was written by a Canadian, John McRae, in 1915 (false info on first post).
P.S. Do Americans wear poppies on Veteran's Day? I should know this, I have grandparents across the way in Detroit...

When I was a kid, I remember poppies being a big deal on certain military holidays. I don't remember if it was Veterans' Day or Memorial Day, maybe both. I don't see poppies in my neck of the woods (Connecticut) very often anymore and when I do, they're usually given out during fund raisers in front of supermarkets and such. It's popularity may have been diminished because of it's association with narcotics. Maybe other parts of the USA still maintain the poppy tradition of remembering dead soldiers. I sure hope so.

 

[dandaman]

Gotta love the Canadians with their opium addiction...:animwink: :lol:

 

[FanofDinsey1981]

It's nothing about a film. "In Flanders Fields" was written by a Canadian, John McRae, in 1915 (false info on first post).
P.S. Do Americans wear poppies on Veteran's Day? I should know this, I have grandparents across the way in Detroit...

I know it is nothing about a film, I simply said my film prof read it to us. I think he was comparing it to a film. I believe Flanders Field is in Belgium, and it was a site of a battle during WWI. I think he read it to us the same day we watched Le Grande Illusion, about allied forces escaping from a castle used by the german forces to hold POWs.

 

[dandaman]

My bad.

 

[FanofDinsey1981]

My bad.

no problem. I realized my post might have seemed a bit harsher then I meant it. sorry.

 

[dandaman]

Didn't seem harsh to me, you just pointed out a fact... no problem.