"IN FLANDERS FIELDS" BY JOHN MCCRAE

The poem "In Flanders Fields" was written by John McCrae during the First World War and is considered to be one of the best known war poems of all time.  McCrae was a Canadian soldier and physician during World War I and wrote the poem after his experiences in the Second Battle Ypres on the Western Front.  It was first published in the magazine "Punch" in 1915 and has gone on to being a poem synonymous with remembrance and is recited today during war memorial services across Canada and the world.  McCrae died near the end of the war from complications related to pneumonia.
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"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.