POPPIES, a poem I wrote a long time ago for my husband,it hangs on the wall in the cottage.
My Father in law ,who was an OLD CONTEMPTIBLE,this title was given to the first soldiers inWW1.He was a very young man when he was sent to France,he was wounded three times,recovered , gassed at the battle of the Somme,then sent back to the trenches.He was lucky and survived the war,but he would never talk about it.He always attended the remembrance day service and marched with the few surviving OLD CONTEMPTIBLES
As a young man,wearing all his medals,including the military medal,he was in the infantry then became a Farrier SGT .
He was born 1889 and died in 1965.
We are a military family,both my husband and both my sons were in the army,they have all seen active service and lost friends,Remembrance day and the 2 minute silence is always observed in our household.
Unfortunately,wars and terrorism still rages around the World and I fear many more lives will be lost.Let us all pray that this World will one day be a peaceful place for all.
They shall grow not old
as we that are left grow old
age shall not weary them,nor the years condem
at the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
By Lawrence Binyon.
Always a poignant and very sad time. Unfortunately I have come to the conclusion that war will be with us forever. Religion, prosperity or lack of it, politics; all things that should unify seem to achieve just the opposite.
ReplyDeleteI remember them and respect their sacrifice but I can't glorify it. Nothing glorious about being dead.
Thank you for this lovely post. Your poem and its presentation are very powerful.
ReplyDeleteMy dad fought in WW2 lost a brother, saved a brother and thought it was best forgotten.
ReplyDeleteHe died on REMEMBERANCE DAY
A beautifully written poem. Lest we forget.
ReplyDeleteA fitting tribute.
ReplyDeleteI remember selling the poppies in school, a gentle reminder of all those brave souls who fought the ultimate battle.
Remembrance Days are sad days, and your post deals with the topic adequately. The little poem at te end, about the dead soldiers always young in our memory - is chilling.
ReplyDeleteHi Carolyn, this is a very touching post. The poem you wrote is well done. My father-in-law served in World War II and my hubby in the Vietnam War. They were both in the army. Tomorrow is Veteran's Day here.
ReplyDeleteHave a good day,
Cheryl
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR COMMENTS
ReplyDeleteWhen I did this post it was not supposed to be published until today,but as I did not put the date in the right place it came up early,but never mind.
Each one of your views to this post was interesting and appreciated,thank you.
11/11/10
I just found your post through Photos2pleaseu. This is a very nice post and the poem you wrote is beautiful. I think that Remembrance Day, Veterans Day, Armistice Day, or whatever it is called, is a good thing. It is not to glorify war but to remind people of the horrors, waste and futility of war. Perhaps one day the message will sink in and wars will become fewer. I know that sounds like a hopeless dream but, if the young are informed about the consequences of war, who knows what will happen? After all, the young of today are the leaders of tomorrow. We can only pray and hope.
ReplyDelete