Remembrance
Ben and I made a plan tonight to go to Ottawa for remembrance day next year. For Better or For Worse today was really good - it made me tear up a little. Remembrance day always does that to me.
This week my university gave us Friday morning off to attend the ceremony for students of the school who have been killed in war. My PBL group decided to have PBL in that time instead. I didn't object too much, but raised the point that some of us might want to attend the ceremony. My tutor laughed and said that he hadn't observed remembrance day since grade school and he was too busy "saving people's lives" in the hospital to observe it. I think this is a pretty short sited and callous attitude. I'm sure he does a lot of good every day in his job, but there are a lot of men, women and boys who have gone off to war and given the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy today. I may not agree with a lot of things that are going on in the world today with respect to combat, but I still think it's a mournful thing for anyone to die in war. I remember.
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
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.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young.
Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
3 comments:
The only thing about going to the Ottawa ceremonies is that you have to get there super early otherwise you won't be able to see anything. Most of the people I know who went this weekend said that they could hear the cannons go off, but they were too far away to hear anything else, and were out of range to see any of the parade or laying of the wreaths.
The older I become - especially now that I've out-lived many of those who went between WWI and Vietnam - the more the sacrifice means to me. This is one of my favourite remembrance poems:
These were our children who died for our lands; they were dear in our sight.
We have only the memory left of their home-treasured sayings and laughter.
The price of their loss shall be paid to our hands, not to another's hereafter.
Neither the alien nor priest shall decide upon it; that is our right.
- But who shall return us the children?
Hmm, I'm in agreement with you there, I too find your tutor's comments rather flippant!
It was nice that you chose to observe Remembrance Day. I did, too!
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