ANZAC Day 25 April: New Zealand's Remembrance Day

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.

On ANZAC Day, I am posting this poem, "In Flanders Fields", by John McCrae, written in December 2015 in memory of my grandfather, a veteran of the Battle of the Somme in World War One, and in memory of ten great uncles posted abroad in WW1 from Gallipoli to France & Flanders, my uncle posted to Solomon Islands in World War Two, all New Zealanders posted abroad in conflicts, and especially in memory of those who did not return. We will remember them, and must resolve to do whatever we can to prevent deadly conflict now and in the future.