…and in the morning, we will remember them.
In Flanders Fields
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.
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
1915
I hope you can find time to watch the following video. The songs are sung by three soldiers who are currently serving in Afghanistan and the accompanying slides show images from the conflict zone.
This poem by John Hawkhead quite poignantly draws parallels between past an current conflicts.
Helmand
Night on the cold plain,
invisible sands lift,
peripheral shadows stir,
space between light and dark
shrouding secrets;
old trades draped grey.
Here too poppies fall,
petals blown on broken ground,
seeds scattered on stone
and this bright bloom,
newly cropped,
leaves pale remains,
fresh lines cut;
the old sickle wind
sharp as yesterday.
John Hawkhead
2009
