on this day

we will remember

Poppies --

the colour of
death

the colour of
remember --

standing guard
at cenotaphs
somebody's baby
not allowed
to make the trip.

my babies
will go with me.

never mind the cold
and the rain.

on this day we remember
their pain.

never to live it
again.

Author's Note

Poppies are red, not white. Even as we pray for peace we must remember
the hell of war. Banning cadets from going to the cenotaphs was the wrong
move this year. Stand tall, stand proud. I will take my kids out of school and
bring them myself. 11/11/2014

Reviews

[Lydia Shutter]

What a beautiful tribute for Veteran's Day! Lydi**

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you, Lydia. I wrote this when our schools were banned from attending cenotaphs after a terrorist attacked our capital. It is good to see this one again.

[Delmar Cooper]

After the fire, the upheaval of earth and the mass plantings of sons the flowers grew. No farmer could stand many years of that.

[Lyn Anderson]

No, I suppose not. I am a strange person I guess. I somehow have reconciled evolution and religion, and peace with honouring sacrifice.

[Delmar Cooper]

It is a good thing to honor sacfrifice. It is a pity there are no national cemeteries for the widows and orphans and fathers and mothers of the fallen. I would vist just as I visit the yankee cemetery at Chattanooga, of the graves here at Montevallo, and once in a great while Arlington. The poppies that grew in Flander's fields grew from disturbing the earth.

[Mr.Boffin]

emotive and powerful...great tribute!

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you, I appreciate it.

[Matching Socks]

Agree, it has to be red, not white.
It's a day to remember, first.

[Lyn Anderson]

I think the confusion for some is that wanting peace does not mean forgetting the sacrifices made in war, and that remembering them does not mean glorifying war.

[Matching Socks]

Completely agree. I think it's a nice idea but... Let's not lose sight of reality.

[icelandicblue]

That is the purpose...to remember those not there and to remember the purpose of our reverence so that we don't send somebody's baby back into the horror of it all and continue the cycle ad infinitum.

[Lyn Anderson]

No for sure, however, the cadet groups who opted out this year due to unfounded safety concerns missed out.

[therisa]

On this day
I honour those
Who gave their life
As the ultimate sacrifice
For the freedom
Of my family.

Removing the tyranny
Of the Nazi
From Europe.

An early birthday present
For my dad
Who turned 9
The following week.

For this
I stand guard
And thank thee
For your willingness
To pay the price.

[Lyn Anderson]

Beautiful thank you

[therisa]

Your welcome, KL. Just want people to know, our vets aren't forgotten, or tossed aside, like our federal government treats them.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Although I am not a great believer in war this expressess the sentiment of this day and the many soldiers and civilians who have died in the name of sane people.

[Lyn Anderson]

Remembrance day isn't about believing in war. It's about honouring sacrifices that had to be made and are still being made for us. I know a woman whose whole family died for rescuing Jews in WWII. But for the sacrifices of others we would live in a very different world.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

But do those sacrifices really NEED to be made?

[Lyn Anderson]

You tell me. How many more would have died if everyone just let them keep stoking the ovens?

[willweb]

A wonderful tribute to those who have risked it all for others.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you for reading and reviewing.

[willweb]

Yeah, now if I could only remember to check my spelling before hitting post. :(

[Pryde Foltz]

standing guard
at cenotaphs
somebody's baby
not allowed
to make the trip.

When I think of war … that is exactly what I think of … someone's child never making it back to his mother's arms. You nailed it with this one.


A bit of a grammar typo in the fifth line … I think it needs to be remembrance;)

[Lyn Anderson]

I did intend remember ala poetic license. :) thank you. I just returned from a trip to our local Cenotaph and am happy to report high attendance and our own local cadets. Some people get it at least.

[Pryde Foltz]

Yes … it is earlier here … we will have our silence later:)

[NoelHC]

On behalf of the families of my son's friends that did not return I thank you for doing this with your children, they need to understand the sacrifices made and the horror of war.

[Lyn Anderson]

As I said I am happy to report in our little corner the Cenotaph memorial ceremony had high attendance including our cadets.