Freedom...an interesting word. The Oxford Dictionary describes freedom as: "the power to act, to speak, or to express your wants...without hindrance or restraint. "
In the U.S....we call this "Liberty"...an independence, an emancipation...a freedom to express what you are really thinking....
Here is a story that grips my heart:
It was at the age of 41 John McCrae enrolled in the Canadian Expeditionary Force...during World War I. McCrae happened to be both a physician and...a poet. He used a style of poetry known as "rondeaux", which was an old form of poetry that was popular both in the 13th century and again in the 15th century. It was introduced during the Renaissance Age and was of French origin.
This style of poetry was structured in a format that offered a pattern of repetition focused on one central theme...or thought. The words of the author "painted" an almost "song and/or dance" as the words were read.
Here is what happened...
On April 15th, 1915, the German army attacked the Canadian army...with a chemical warfare...a chlorine gas, yet were unsuccessful in defeating the Canadians.
It was 17 days of "pure hell"...constantly remaining awake, sights of the dead, the maimed, the wounded, and the atrocities of chemical warfare. On May 2, 1915. McCrae's close and dear friend was killed, his name being Alexis Helmer. John McCrae himself performed the burial service, and during the funeral McCrae noticed how quickly the poppies were growing around the graves of his fellow comrades.
The following day, while riding in the back of a military ambulance, these words began to flow...from the depths of his heart...
In Flander's Field
In Flander's Fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row
That marks our place, and in this 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 live
In Flander's Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you...from failing hands we throw
The torch...be yours..to hold it high.
If we break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though the poppies grow
In Flander's Fields.
Poppies, their scientific name being "papaver rhoeas", is a flower that is used to identify
with those who gave their lives...for our very freedom.
This is not about who used these chemical means to win...this is about the brave...the ones who sacrificed their lives...so we can be free...today!...regardless of which side we were on.
Red poppies symbolize the loss of life given, white poppies serve as a reminder to never use chemical warfare...again. and the purple poppies?....remind us of the victims that remain...long after war!
" There is no greater love than this, that a man lay down his life...for his friends." John 15:13
In the U.S....we call this "Liberty"...an independence, an emancipation...a freedom to express what you are really thinking....
Here is a story that grips my heart:
It was at the age of 41 John McCrae enrolled in the Canadian Expeditionary Force...during World War I. McCrae happened to be both a physician and...a poet. He used a style of poetry known as "rondeaux", which was an old form of poetry that was popular both in the 13th century and again in the 15th century. It was introduced during the Renaissance Age and was of French origin.
This style of poetry was structured in a format that offered a pattern of repetition focused on one central theme...or thought. The words of the author "painted" an almost "song and/or dance" as the words were read.
Here is what happened...
On April 15th, 1915, the German army attacked the Canadian army...with a chemical warfare...a chlorine gas, yet were unsuccessful in defeating the Canadians.
It was 17 days of "pure hell"...constantly remaining awake, sights of the dead, the maimed, the wounded, and the atrocities of chemical warfare. On May 2, 1915. McCrae's close and dear friend was killed, his name being Alexis Helmer. John McCrae himself performed the burial service, and during the funeral McCrae noticed how quickly the poppies were growing around the graves of his fellow comrades.
The following day, while riding in the back of a military ambulance, these words began to flow...from the depths of his heart...
In Flander's Field
In Flander's Fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row
That marks our place, and in this sky
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 live
In Flander's Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you...from failing hands we throw
The torch...be yours..to hold it high.
If we break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though the poppies grow
In Flander's Fields.
Poppies, their scientific name being "papaver rhoeas", is a flower that is used to identify
with those who gave their lives...for our very freedom.
This is not about who used these chemical means to win...this is about the brave...the ones who sacrificed their lives...so we can be free...today!...regardless of which side we were on.
Red poppies symbolize the loss of life given, white poppies serve as a reminder to never use chemical warfare...again. and the purple poppies?....remind us of the victims that remain...long after war!
" There is no greater love than this, that a man lay down his life...for his friends." John 15:13
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