The Unoriginal Muse

Nevertheless…

In Flanders field 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.

– Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

This is our culture, our birthright and our duty; to honour those men who lie beneath the earth of this continent, who died to preserve its liberty, and who’s graves and memories will be trampled into the dust if we allow our civilisation to fall to the new tyrannies that besiege it.