In Flanders Fields – Lt Col John McCrae (1872-1918)

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.

The author of this famous poem, a member of the first Canadian contingent, died in France after four years of medical service on the Western front in World War I.  God bless all our veterans, living and deceased, on Memorial Day.