In Flanders Fields (Celebrating Canadian Remembrance Day)

The first time that I had heard the poem In Flanders Fields, I was about 10-years-old. I had already seen my fair share of Rememberance Days. I knew that men had fought for our freedom. Yet, despite knowing this, childhood inevitably made us take it for granted. After all, a child cannot truly fathom the horrors of war.

Anyway, it's fourth grade, 2004. My class and I are memorizing In Flanders Field. We are going to recite the poem in front of the entire school for Remembrance Day. I find the poem strange; it is broken inconsistently, and it doesn't roll off the tongue easily... I also keep getting the image of Ned Flanders stuck in my head 😅

(Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Flanders )

Reading the poem today as an adult, having witnessed events unfold over the course of time, it definitely now carries a different perspective with it.

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🏵️ 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 🏵️

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In the first stanza, the narrator paints the reader the scene of Flanders Fields, where we can see rows upon rows of crosses, each one dotted with bright red Poppies.

(If you are unfamiliar with the significance of the Poppy, allow me to explain briefly. When the war was finally drawing to an end, the lands of Belgium and France were torched and barren.
However, the very persistent Poppy took no time in making an appearance! The soldiers found beauty in their colourful display... Poppies have been used as a symbol for Remembrance Day ever since, and are used to represent the blood that was shed for our freedoms)

(Image by andreas N from Pixabay )

We can also hear the crying of birds -- the larks -- as they continue to fly overhead amid the gunfire. The first stanza of the poem immediately greets us to a horrifying and dismal scene...

( Image by Ara_a from Pixabay )

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🏵️ 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 second stanza suddenly shifts perspective, to one of the deceased soldiers. They remind the reader that only a short while ago, they were just like us.
One of the greatest tragedies of war is the loss of men who gave their lives for us, but especially the lives of the young, naïve men. The boys who knowingly lied about their ages in order to enter the army, completely unaware of the horrors that awaited them. The reality that many of them held onto the belief that they would be reunited with their loved ones soon...

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🏵️ 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 🏵️

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The last stanza, of course, is the most powerful one. There is a call to action on behalf of the deceased soldiers, to take up their fight. Depending on how the reader chooses to view this call, it can be perceived with great pride, or immense dread...
I personally choose to take the torch with courage, and with purpose. I have experienced Canada in her prime, but over the last several years, I have witnessed her steady decline. Those soldiers fought for this country, and for our freedoms, but "freedom" should never be synonymous with the destruction of our nation. There is no longer anything that unites us together, everyone has become an island, "each man for himself," and everybody consistently takes and takes while simultaneously burning the country down.

We no longer have an identity; nobody can explain what it means to be a Canadian anymore. She is slowly but surely being erased, and I can guarantee you that those soldiers are definitely rolling in their graves as we speak.

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Canada is a beautiful country, with limitless possibilities! We are the birthplace of hockey. Similar to Dunkin' Donuts, Canada runs on Tim Hortons (or, at least, we used to, before they sold it over to America due to the Canadian government screwing them over in taxes, and now Tim's sells pizza and shit 🙄...). But the corrupt government, and selfish citizens and newcomers all have a "me-first" mentality, and only care about themselves. Our homeless are drug-addicted victims who have been enabled to the point of self-destruction. Canada is being walked all over, and nobody righteous will stand up for her...

(We attended our city's Remembrance Day celebration. Each year, Canadian veterans, police officers, and military official parade through the streets in order to honour those who have given their service. We sing the Canadian anthem, recite In Flanders Fields, fire the cannon, and take a moment of silence...)

(These watermarked photos were taken by my husband while we attended the celebration. They have obviously been used with his permission 😄 please understand there is no other intent than to show others how we celebrate our fallen soldiers. The original post is here: https://ecency.com/hive-194913/@terrywayne/remembrance-day-ceremony )

I cannot control the entire world. I cannot control the state of things. What I can control, is myself. Therefore I shall teach my children to be well-adjusted people. I will teach them what it means to be Canadian, what it means to live in this beautiful country.

Most importantly, I will teach them about the courageous individuals who fought for our homeland, and how incredibly blessed we are to have the freedom and independence that we do...

(Image created using an AI art generator on Night Cafe)