Back to photostream

A Moment to Pause and Remember

In Flanders Fields by John Mccrea

 

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.

 

The theme for “Smile on Saturday” for November 9th is “poppies”, in honour of Armistice Day and Veterans Day, both of which are celebrated on the 11th of November every year. This red poppy I actually photographed in the St Kilda Botanical Gardens in Melbourne a year ago, when whilst I visited there, I came across beds full of beautiful poppies in all kinds of colours. I hope you like my choice for this week’s theme, and that it makes you smile, and that it helps you reflect and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our peace, prosperity and stability, and those who fight today to protect us still. Let us also hope that conflicts around the world will come to a swift conclusion, not least of all in Ukraine and in Gaza.

 

Armistice Day or Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in the line of duty. It falls on the 11th of November every year. Remembrance Day is marked at eleven o’clock (the time that the armistice was declared) with a minute’s silence to honour the fallen. Following a tradition inaugurated by King George V in 1919, the day is also marked by war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries.

 

Veterans Day is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November the 11th, for honouring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces.

3,542 views
121 faves
121 comments
Uploaded on November 8, 2024
Taken on October 18, 2023