Sunday, 10 November 2013

Remembrance Sunday

        We Shall Keep the Faith

               by Moina Michael, November 1918

              Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
              Sleep sweet - to rise anew!
              We caught the torch you threw
              And holding high, we keep the Faith
              With All who died.
              We cherish, too, the poppy red
              That grows on fields where valor led;
               It seems to signal to the skies
               That blood of heroes never dies,
               But lends a lustre to the red
              Of the flower that blooms above the dead
              In Flanders Fields.
              And now the Torch and Poppy Red
              We wear in honor of our dead.
              Fear not that ye have died for naught;
              We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
              In Flanders Fields.

3 comments:

  1. I've actually never read this poem before. Thank you for posting it. A great way to remember those who have suffered in conflicts. Jx

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  2. Glad to have found you again- and to read your experiences in your new life.

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  3. I like that poem. t reminds me of John McCrae's poem, which is a staple of Remembrance Day services in Canada.

    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. McCrae, a doctor, died of pneumonia on January 28, 1918, while still commanding No. 3 Canadian General Hospital (McGill) at Boulogne, France.

    Blessings and Bear hugs!

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