Memorial Day Poppies
by Constantine Gregory
Title
Memorial Day Poppies
Artist
Constantine Gregory
Medium
Photograph - Photo Art
Description
The wearing of poppies in honor of America's war dead is traditionally done on Memorial Day. The practice of wearing of poppies takes its origin from the poem In Flanders Fields, written in 1915 by John McCrae.
In Flanders Fields
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.
It expressed McCrae's grief over the "row on row" of graves of soldiers who had died on Flanders' battlefields, located in a region of western Belgium and northern France. The poem presented a striking image of the bright red flowers blooming among the rows of white crosses and became a rallying cry to all who fought in the First World War.
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May 26th, 2014
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Comments (22)
Susan Siderius
Poppies are also used on Remembrance Day, on November 11th, in Canada. Written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae a Canadian Doctor Surgeon and Soldier.
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