The Flower of Remembrance

¹In 1938, a United States Congressional Act made November 11th a Federal Holiday. The Act declared it "...a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace". The Act was amended in 1954 to rename the holiday to 'Veterans Day', so that all veterans could be honored.

²The important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

³The day has different names in different countries, but its purpose is the same everywhere it's observed. Whether called Armistice Day, Remembrance Day or Veterans Day, it remains a time to recognize those who fought and to renew our commitment to peace.

⁴In Flanders Fields By John McCrae

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.

“This was the poem written by World War I Colonel John McCrae, a surgeon with Canada 's First Brigade Artillery. 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.

McCrae's poem had a huge impact on two women, Anna E. Guerin of France and Georgia native Moina Michael. Both worked hard to initiate the sale of artificial poppies to help orphans and others left destitute by the war. By the time Guerin established the first sale in the U.S., in 1920 with the help of The American Legion, the poppy was well known in the allied countries — America, Britain, France, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — as the "Flower of Remembrance." Proceeds from that first sale went to the American and French Children's League.

Donations received in return for these artificial poppies have helped countless veterans and their widows, widowers and orphans over the years. The poppy itself continues to serve as a perpetual tribute to those who have given their lives for the nation's freedom.” Read complete document

This week Classic Poetry Aloud will read War Poems by 7 Poets in these 7 days leading up to November 11th. The Poems include:

Fears In Solitude by Samuel Coleridge

The Man With the Wooden Leg by Katherine Mansfield

Ball's Bluff by Herman Melville

Speech from Henry the V (representing combat) by William Shakespeare

The Soldier by Rupert Brooke

Strange Meeting by Wilfred Owen

For the Fallen (extracts) by Lawrence Binyon

Remembrance:



⁵Arlington National Cemetery -- America's best known national cemetery still buries service members and some veterans.

⁵ National Cemeteries -- The Department of Veterans Affairs maintains national cemeteries throughout the country for the burial of veterans of America's armed forces, their spouses and young children.

1. Knowledge Hound
2. History of Veterans Day
3. Knowledge Hound
4. The Flower of Remembrance
5. Celebrating America's Freedoms

War Poetry Remembrance Week

“¹If you're not familiar with Cabaret, it's an interesting play to revive now. Depicting the denizens of a decadent Berlin night club sleep walking their way through life as the Nazis rise to power, it's a cautionary tale of the need to be on guard against the naive belief that the worst can never happen and others will take care of society's problems for us.

Choosing to ignore the spread of brutal, reactionary and racist ideologies, we end up abetting the contagion. There are times when we have to take a stand, no matter how much we'd rather be dancing our lives away.”

I’ve quoted the above from Francis at Caught In The Stream as an introduction to the subject War. On Sunday November 4th, the blog site Classic Poetry Aloud will be running a week of “²War Poems to coincide with Remembrance Week, the week leading up to the 11th of November. In the Uk on the 11th of November, People traditionally will pause for two minutes at 11 O’clock in the morning which is the exact time on that day that the Declaration of Peace was signed at the end of the first World War in 1918.” The goal by Classic Poetry Aloud is to read War Poems by 7 Poets in these 7 days leading up to November 11th.

Classic Poetry Aloud will begin on Sunday November 4th with an Occasional Miscellany that introduces the week to include poetry from Samuel Coleridge, Katherine Mansfield, Herman Melville, William Shakespeare, Rupert Brooke, Wilfred Owen and Lawrence Binyon.

We “²hope you will be able to join us during this week to take the time to listen and perhaps take some time on November 11th to reflect on where the poems have led you to that week.”

Thank You



1. A Fall Night Out in Rogers Park: Catching Cabaret, Carving Pumpkins (consent to quote granted to Binding Ink)

2. Occasional Miscellany Number 2