Poppies

I saw a field of poppies grow

Beneath the summer sky,

And heard the skylark sing a song

A sweet little lullaby.

I stood and said a prayer

Remembering the graves,

That lie across the ocean

In far off Flanders fields.

There in a sacred graveyard

As far as the eye can see,

Beneath the sun bleached crosses

Lie the young men of yesterday.

Their shattered and broken bodies

Were laid to eternal rest,

Far from their native homeland

Covered by foreign earth.

And where they fell in battle

Out of the blood stained soil,

A poppy grew to remind us

Of the sacrifices they’ve brought.

They gave their lives for their country

For freedom and liberty,

And faced the foe in battle

That all of us may live.

If ever you see a poppy 

Grow in a garden or field,

Remember yesterdays Soldiers,

And bow your head and pray...

Karin Kuskis,

November 2005