Lest We Forget

"In Flanders Fields" is a war poem written in the form of a rondeau, written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae.  He was inspired to write it on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of friend and fellow soldier Lieutenant Alexis Hunter, who died in the Second Battle of Ypres.  According to legend, fellow soldiers retrieved the poem after McCrae, initially dissatisfied with his work, discarded it.

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

Scare heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead.  Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loves and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up or 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

According to historian Paul Fussell, "In Flanders Fields" was the most popular poem of its era.  It has become a staple of Remembrance Day ceremonies and may well be the most well known literary piece among English Canadians.  It has an official French adaptation entitled "Au champ d'honneur", written by Jean Pariseau and used by the Canadian government in French and bilingual ceremonies.