*Since this inspiration I have discovered that it is 'In Flanders Fields' - hope John McRae doesn't mind too much.
I remember a Remembrance Day in Wentworth when this poem was read with lines spoken by different Returned Soldiers, including one on the rooftop of the RSL. It was one of the most moving things I have experienced, although I'm not so keen on the idea of passing on the baton so the war can continue. At our Remembrance Day service in Tribes yesterday, the guest speaker chose to interpolate his rels' war history between the stanzas.
The wreaths were very Springy. I had a full-on morning and didn't get around to picking an armful of red poppies from the garden. Having seen the news coverage of London blitzed by biodegradable poppies, I now have a plan to scatter poppy petals over the cenotaph. Not quite sure when!
On another Remembrance Day, again in Wentworth, I watched a lady reknowned in town as a tough old biddy, stand with tears streaming down her face. I loved her ever after. She had a red heeler called Jewel so I was half in love with her already.
And here's the omission:
I forgot in the last blog that I could show you Steve's painting of the flowers in the vase this way.
I always get teary on Remembrance Day. Not sure anything happened here. It did make me get out the book 'In (!) Flanders Field' which tells the story of John MaCrae and how he came to write the poem and how it inspired the wearing of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance.And I love Steve's flower. He will have such an abundance to choose from for future paintings - and all just outside the back door. FF
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