In Flanders Fields

Today is Memorial Day, a day in the United States where we honor those who fought and those who died in wars. In honor of Memorial Day, below is a poem that is often recited on this day.

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.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

[The poppies referred to in the poem grew in abundance in Flanders where war casualties of World War I were buried. They became a symbol of Remembrance Day, and today Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars take donations for poppies in the days leading up to Memorial Day.]

Happy Memorial Day, everyone. And to those who have fallen, fought, or are fighting, I say thank you.