Decoration Day, now called
Memorial Day
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.
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.
by John McCrae
Remembering all those who fought for our freedom, and thankful for their sacrifice. I have good memories of services at our town cemetery with the 21 gun salute at noon, very impressive to me as a young girl. My father wore his WWII uniform, and my brother and I decorated our bicycles with crepe paper in the spokes.
I am still working on the vase of lilacs. The lilacs should be out here in Michigan soon, as spring has definitely arrived.
At least there are not many French knots on this one, but many daisy stitch lilac petals.
Lots of great ideas in last week’s linkups. I know there will be more today-can’t wait. Thank you all for participating. I am sitting with my sister during her dialysis this morning, and am looking forward to seeing your blogs. As usual, my only request is that you link back to this particular blog post from somewhere within your post.
As always your embroidery is lovely! How many more blocks do you have to embroider?
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your hand stitching and hanging with your sister. The basket and flowers look great.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, superb. It was a great idea using different shades of purple. So lovely!
ReplyDeleteI love your lilacs! We just did an emergency transplant of a mature lilac tree that toppled and split in half during a storm. It has already bloomed and leafed out here in North Carolina, so not the ideal time to try to move it but I do hope it survives! Happy Memorial Day.
ReplyDeleteI have embroidered the same flower blocks you are doing . I just need to set them together and get them quilted .
ReplyDeletelove your embroidery and that field of red poppies that you show
ReplyDeleteThank you for this beautiful famous poem. We need to read it often. Carol in Texas
ReplyDeletesince my teens I've sought out the vets and their tables with poppys in exchange for a little donations to the vet funds. A new first this year. No tables, no vets, no buttonhole poppy to add to my collection on the jeep visor. Weird.
ReplyDeleteThank you for "In Flanders Field." I have sung it on Memorial Day weekend with church choir. It is incredibly hard to sing as you internalize the words. Another choral group I'm in were suppose to do it for a Veteran's day program but we never quite got it enough to perform. Your lilac basket is coming along quite well. Best thoughts for your sister's improved health. And kudos to you for being at her side through her treatment.
ReplyDeleteLovely stitching and pretty poppies--I've never seen red ones in person, though know them from the poem and yearly photos.
ReplyDeleteWar is a terrible thing. I thought of all my relatives who have served, the few who died, including my great uncle on Leyte, in WWII. My great grandparents never recovered from the loss of their only son.
The local school has always hosted the Memorial Day program, with the kids participating. Some middle school age student would always read Flanders Fields. Thank you for sharing and bringing back some good memories of hearing that poem. My daughters both helped place flags on veteran's graves for Memorial Day, along with Legion Auxiliary ladies.
ReplyDeleteYour embroidery is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI grew up near the Flanders Field in the "Pays du Coquelicot" (Land of the Poppies).... lovely poem
ReplyDelete