We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,…
— from *In Flanders Fields by John McCrae
The lime from fallen
mortar, a remnant
from when too many
young men died
fighting another
war that became
remembrance,
fed the poppies
in Flanders Fields,
and the red,
a deep red
tinged in black,
in rows and rows
of setting suns
signifying these
valiant lives,
recalls in us
a deeply-seated
need to nurture and
appreciate peace
while never forgetting
each life lived
as we now live,
blessed in the glow
of each sunrise and each sunset.
*Several poems have stayed with me my entire life, poems that inspire me to write, those haunting lines that taught me why poetry remains a necessary expression, and McCrae’s poem is one of those. I recently began painting poppies and found the lines to this poem replaying in my mind again and again, the image of a poppy and war forever intwined.
—C.L. Fisher, September 2021
Unless otherwise indicated, all writings and images are the work of C.L. Fisher and may not be copied, used, or distributed without permission.
Poetic Meanderings 