veterans day and poppies in my kitchen

Today is Veterans Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in the UK and its Commonwealth countries. In the UK its citizens celebrate by wearing poppies. This practice originated to commemorate those who died in World War I as poppies grew wild on the battlefields of northern France and Belgium. The poppy has long represented peace and sacrifice, most famously portrayed in John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields”, which he wrote after seeing poppies grow on battle-scarred fields. 

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.

John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

While we traveled in Scotland and England, we explored a few churches and in them were memorials dedicated to the towns' soldiers who died in various wars. These simple but profound shrines gave pause for reflection and gratitude for their service and sacrifice.

At the Tower of London is a poppy memorial to the soldiers who died in the service of their countries. It features 30,000 ceramic poppies to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. This installation opened on May 6 and closes today. What a breathtaking display and powerful symbol of remembrance.

A little while ago I bought a little poster that has a nice blessing on it and some poppies to add a pop of color to the blue and white in the majority of the piece. Later on while at an art show at a coffee shop, I bought an all red poppy piece painted on barn wood. My kitchen is fairly monotone and I wanted something to brighten up the wall space. A splash of red does that well. 

The silver rain, the shining sun

The fields where scarlet poppies run

And all the rustling of the wheat

Is in the bread that we now eat.

So it is with grateful heart we feel

When we sit down to every meal

That we are eating rain and sun

And fields where scarlet poppies run.

~ Alice C. Henderson

“Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere who bravely bears his country’s cause.”  ~ Abraham Lincoln