Why Wear a Poppy Poem by Don Crawford
“Please wear a Poppy”, the lady said and
... held one forth, but I shook my head, Then I stopped and watched as she offered them there,
And her face was old and lined with care;
But beneath the scars the years had made
There remained a smile that refused to fade.
A boy came whistling down the street,
Bouncing along on carefree feet,
His smile was full of joy and fun:
“Lady”, said he, “May I have one”?
When she pinned it on he turned to say,
“Why do we wear a poppy today”?
The lady smiled in her wistful way,
And answered, “This is Remembrance Day,
And the poppy there is a symbol for
The gallant men who died in war,
And because they did, you and I are free,
That’s why we wear the poppy, you see”.
I had a boy about your size,
With golden hair and big blue eyes.
He loved to play and jump and shout,
Free as a bird he would race about.
As the years went by he learned and grew,
And became a man – as you will, too.
But the war went on and he had to stay,
And all I could do was wait and pray.
His letters told of the awful fight,
(I can see it still in my dreams at night)
With the tanks and guns and cruel barbed wire, and the mines and bullets, the bombs and fire.
“Till at last, at last, the war was won –
And that’s why we wear a poppy, son.”
The small boy turned as if to go,
Then said, “Thanks lady, I’m glad to know,
That sure did sound like an awful fight,
But your son – did he come back all right?”
A tear rolled down each faded cheek:
She shook her head but didn’t speak.
I slunk away in a sort of shame,
And if you were me you’d have done the same:
For our thanks, in giving, is often delayed
Through our freedom was bought
And thousands paid.
And so when we see a poppy worn,
Let us reflect on the burden borne,
By those who gave their very all,
When asked to answer their country’s call.
That we at home in peace might live.
Then wear a poppy,
Remember
And give
“Please wear a Poppy”, the lady said and
... held one forth, but I shook my head, Then I stopped and watched as she offered them there,
And her face was old and lined with care;
But beneath the scars the years had made
There remained a smile that refused to fade.
A boy came whistling down the street,
Bouncing along on carefree feet,
His smile was full of joy and fun:
“Lady”, said he, “May I have one”?
When she pinned it on he turned to say,
“Why do we wear a poppy today”?
The lady smiled in her wistful way,
And answered, “This is Remembrance Day,
And the poppy there is a symbol for
The gallant men who died in war,
And because they did, you and I are free,
That’s why we wear the poppy, you see”.
I had a boy about your size,
With golden hair and big blue eyes.
He loved to play and jump and shout,
Free as a bird he would race about.
As the years went by he learned and grew,
And became a man – as you will, too.
But the war went on and he had to stay,
And all I could do was wait and pray.
His letters told of the awful fight,
(I can see it still in my dreams at night)
With the tanks and guns and cruel barbed wire, and the mines and bullets, the bombs and fire.
“Till at last, at last, the war was won –
And that’s why we wear a poppy, son.”
The small boy turned as if to go,
Then said, “Thanks lady, I’m glad to know,
That sure did sound like an awful fight,
But your son – did he come back all right?”
A tear rolled down each faded cheek:
She shook her head but didn’t speak.
I slunk away in a sort of shame,
And if you were me you’d have done the same:
For our thanks, in giving, is often delayed
Through our freedom was bought
And thousands paid.
And so when we see a poppy worn,
Let us reflect on the burden borne,
By those who gave their very all,
When asked to answer their country’s call.
That we at home in peace might live.
Then wear a poppy,
Remember
And give
We remembered the brave men and women that served our country today. We made a special poster about our family members who served in WWI and WWII. We have 8 brave men in our family who served in WWI and WWII:
William henry preston-wwi-164th Battalion, lorne scots (machine gunner)-returned home safely
Rodolphe (rudy) Bousquet-wwi- wounded, Returned home
safely
Sam bousquet- wwi-Returned home safely
ELBERT BOUSQUET-WWii-Died March 2, 1944 age:21. (pilot officer, England Rcaf-lancaster bombers)
Roy elmer preston-wwii, petty officer, aircraft nabob.-injured,
returned home safely.
Harry lay-wwii-r.s.m-seaforth highlanders-wounded/injured,
returned home safely
The making of the poster:
 |
| OUR POSTER |
 |
| Getting ready for the Parade this AM. |
 |
| Its slushy/gross out! |
 |
| Got too Cold, had to sit in the truck and watch the men parade by. William Kept asking "whats that guy doing?" Me" He's marching in the parade." William "whats that guy doing?" Me"marching.", William " whats that guy doing?", me "sigh". |
