In memoriam on Anzac Day

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.

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)

To have seen the sun, rise and fall,
On foreign shores, whilst standing tall,
Whilst in their eye, a soldier dies,
Do not weep, do not cry.

Those who left, to not return,
At home alone, a family yearns,
They gave their all, their blood and sweat,
To save a life, to not regret.

A life once given, to not be forgotten,
In narrow halls, or streets downtrodden,
A soldier once, brothers together,
They live on always, in our hearts, forever.

Australian soldier, 25 April 2006