“…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…”
The day after visiting the grave of his closest friend, John McCrae wrote the famous poem “In Flanders Fields”. Killed in the trenches near Ypres, Belgium, the fallen soldier and friend was buried under a simple wooden cross in a field of graves and wild poppies. These delicate yet vibrant flowers are symbolic of the beauty of the lives lost and the immense gratitude of those left behind.
John McCrae died without knowing the outcome of the war. Perhaps this is what gives his words their enduring weight. He speaks from the perspective of the dead amidst an ongoing conflict.
“… To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be it yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.”
The poem ends with a call to action – a passing of the torch.
At eleven o’clock on November 11th, Canadians will join members of the international community in two minutes of silence to commemorate the end of the First World War. On this day we will also recognize the lives lost since 1918 – in the Second World War, the Korean War, and the War in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, this list is only growing.
Please join us in silence today at 11AM. Let us honour the sacrifices so many have made and let us honour their families. Lest we forget.