The Poppy

As tomorrow is Remembrance Day, Stacey and I thought it would be fitting to dedicate today's post to our fallen Canadian soldiers. Remembrance Day (originally called Armistice Day), commemorates the end of World War I, "the war to end all wars," on Monday, November 11, 1918, at 11am (the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month).

The tradition of wearing poppies symbolizes that we remember those Canadian soldiers who were killed in the wars and peace keeping operations that our country was involved in. One of the most popular and memorable poems associated with Remembrance Day, is "In Flanders Field." Here it is below:

In Flanders Fields   

written in 1915 by John McCrae

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.

In honor of this day, Stacey composed her version of "The Last Post," the song that is played at military funerals to symbolize a soldier's final farewell. Click on the image below to hear her beautiful rendition of "The Last Post."

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