Sariah Goury, Year 11

Remember, Remember

Remember, remember

That day in November

When the fighting finally stopped.

Oh, those poor young men,

I wonder what they felt when

The order came and the weapons were dropped.

For sure, back at home,

There wasn’t a soul alone

After the awaited peace was announced.

The parties and parades

Must’ve lasted for days

As the war-driven fear was renounced.

But that was the Brits, Aussies and Yanks;

In Europe, the land was a maze of blood banks,

And the dread seemed impossible to escape.

The cities were shells,

Empty of all but the knells

And the wails of those haunted by the late.

Then, by and by,

The sun rose golden in the sky,

Above a world left quiet after a storm.

And the war-torn front line

Was scattered by sweet, dark wine-coloured poppies, and the hope was reborn.

Imagine that world

As the flowers unfurled

And painted the grey fields red.

Now 100 years later,

We wear poppies of paper

Lest we forget those wounded, those dead.

Remembrance Day, or Armistice Day, is a day celebrated by Commonwealth countries in remembrance of the day when the armistice was signed at the end of the First World War, and the fighting ceased for the first time in four years.  It was signed on the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918.  Today, we use this day to honour the millions of people affected by the Great War, and other wars across the span of modern history, and the soldiers who offered their lives.  We wear pins of paper poppies as a symbol of thanks and hope.

Sunday, 11th November 2018, marks 100 years since the First World War ended.  Though it was a very long time ago, many wars have happened since, and are still happening now.  Take some time on Sunday to think about those souls that deserve to be remembered, and also the wounded, the refugees and the heartbroken.  Remember the young men whose lives were ruined and ravaged by the violence of war.  Remember, remember, that day in November...