Carpe Diem Distillation #8, John McCrae’s “In Flanders Fields”

The goal of this Carpe Diem Distillation is to “distil” a haiku from a long-poem.
On this occasion the poem is “In Flanders Field” by John McCrae:

Image Credits

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

My Response

in a foreign field
the wind still invokes their names
the blood red poppies

Smiles, love and laughter
© John Belchamber 2014