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Memorial Day

Filed under: Poetry
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IN FLANDERS FIELDS

John McCrae, 1915.

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.


  • http://www.dot.gov rungus

    Flanders Fields, while a well-known poem in its day, is a sentimeltalization of the slaughter of WWI, in which the dead encourage still more slaughter. It’s also inferior poetry. If you want a good WWI poem for Memorial Day, try something from Owen or Asssoon.