After watching a close friend die on the battlefield during the Second Battle of Ypres, a young medical officer from Guelph, Ontario wrote the following words:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still 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, through poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae
1915
To learn more about John McCrae and his immortal poem, please check out In Flanders Fields by Linda Granfield.
I think that is the most powerful piece of poetry I’ve ever read. Moves me to tears every single time.
We recited it in school once… I’ll never, ever forget it.