InIn  Flanders Fieldsds

by John McCrae, May 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.

LLieutenant ColonellJohn McCrae

In Flanders Fields remains one of the most memorable war poems ever written.  It was written by John McCrae, a Canadian Army Physician.  He died of pneumonia while on active duty in 1918, at age 45.  Although In Flanders Fields was written in 1915, it was not published until 1919.

 

The poppy is known as the symbol of sleep!