Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The Poppies in my Garden

Poppies are a reminder of all the blood men and women have spilt fighting for their country. They do not glorify war. I hate war and a daily prayer is:

Please let there be an end to war and bloodshed, fighting and bombing, terrorism and torture, suffering and oppression. Please save the children, feed the world and let there be peace and love throughout the world.

Anthem for Doomed Youth

What passing bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Onlythe stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.

Excerpt from Wilfred Owen's poem.
Wilfred Owen 1893-1918
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27 comments:

Kim Ayres said...

On Channel 4 last Sunday, John Snow was presenting an edition of The Genius of British Art. In it he explores how up until WW1, where war was concerned, art was all about valour, honour and victory. But afterwards, war artists focused much more on the horror of it. Well worth watching if you missed it.

Pat said...

Kim: sounds like something MTL particularly would appreciate.

Sharon Longworth said...

Pat, a timely and thoughtful reminder of the horror of war and why we should remember.
I've just finished reading Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon, which is set around the time of the first world war and, among other things, shows what war can do to men and women - well worth a read if you haven't already.

mapstew said...

Well said Pat. I am in complete agreement.

(You must have very green fingers, beautiful flowers!) :¬)

xxx

(WV = 'patoonar'!)

Pat said...

Sharon: I'll check if MTL knows it - or even has it, then try Amazon. Thank you.

Mapstew: not really green fingers. Once these poppies take hold there's no stopping them. I dug them up from the front garden to put them here and now they are in both places.

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

Those are so beautiful, I'm going right now into our garden to do some work!

I like your daily prayer, Pat, I will add it to my list of prayers.

kenju said...

I abhor war as well, and I never associate poppies with it. They are so gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

I mentioned somewhere else that I think WWI literature and poetry is some of the most poignant. It's a shame it took a war to inspire it.

Kevin Musgrove said...

Very nice. Thanks.

Pat said...

GG: I don't know about you but my list gets longer and longer. It's almost a litany now and sometimes I lose my place and have to start all over again.

Judy: some people insist on wearing a white poppy on Remembrance Day to emphasise they are against war. But the poppies in the fields of Flanders were scarlet.

Pat said...

Randall: it was a truly horrible war.

Kevin::)

The Unbearable Banishment said...

First of all, did you do anything to that photo in Photoshop? Because those colors are stunning.

I'm going to be the Gloomy Gus here. War is a part of the human condition. There always has been war and I don't think it'll ever abate. Sorry. There will never be peace in the Middle East. Never. (Although I use to say that about Norther Ireland, as well. Shows you how little I know.)

Pat said...

UB: so glad you like the photo. Photo shop and I are strangers - we've never been introduced. I use Picasa and they have an option 'I'm feeling lucky' which I usually click on. Sometimes it's better sometime it's worse.
Some of my best friends are 'Gloomy Gus-s'- some very close to home, but without faith and hope I'm done.

Macy said...

"And each slow dusk a drawing down of blinds"
I always loved the last line of the poem. Maybe if the anti poppy brigade can't wear a poppy, they could manage to revert to an old measure of respect??? Like half-drawing of blinds?

Pat said...

Macy: I should have published the whole poem. For some reason I can't copy and paste from Google onto Dashboard. I can from Word fortunately.

Granny Annie said...

There is no one more against war than the soldier. But the soldier sees the good as well as the horrific. The soldier sees a people lifted out of oppression and sees democracy reach out to them. The soldier sees children given food who are starving and sees frail elderly people and women in bondage set free. As long as there are oppressors there will be war and today, on Veteran's Day, we celebrate the men and women willing to risk their lives for these things.

Unknown said...

Lovely poppies Pat, a good daily prayer, and a terrible poem by a great poet. I don't mean his poetry is terrible - I think I mean that the poem is a true account of one of the most terrible periods of human history. I think U.B. is right that war is a part of the human condition. As long as there are human beings, war will continue, which is a terrible comment on human nature. I don't know why, as young men, we glorify it, but I know we do. It's the way we're made. Still trying to work it out.
Regards, Mike.

Pat said...

Granny Annie: thank you for reminding us.

Mike and Anne: yes some of the WW1 poems and accounts portray a horror one can hardly imagine. I think it starts with boys in the cradle. It was a long time before I could forgive an old friend who gave my toddler son a gun. He loved it.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Beautiful Poppies that are so Alive and Colorful. They mean life!
What a lovely thoughtful post, Pat....I love that Poem and the Prayer, too.
LOVE is what will end all wars. The banishing of Hatred by LOVE!
I prsy we see that someday soon.

Pat said...

Naomi: I'm glad you feel the same way:)

Keith said...

Ever since the dawn of time there has been wars, and I think there always will be wars until the end of time, or until we annihilate each other with bigger and better weapons..

No amount of prayers will do any good, because the simple fact of why there are wars is because Man enjoys killing. Like you, I wish it was otherwise, but Man is the most dangerous animal on the planet.

Love the poppies. Next to foxgloves they are my second favourite flowers.

Pat said...

Keith; there is a lot in what you say but I do believe in prayer. And always will.

Mage said...

Simply splendid and passionate poppies. Look at those colors, says the artist. Yes, I agree, time to end these petty wars.

Pat said...

Maggie: seems we women are more hopeful an optimistic than the men.

debra said...

My late father and my father-in-law served in WWII---neither spoke much about it; both of their lives were impacted by what they experienced.

Would that there was an end to war....
xo

Leigh Russell said...

So much moving poetry came from WW1. One line that haunts me is when Ivor Gurney writes about shooting a young enemy soldier (because it was 'him or me' and, Gurney goes on, 'you would do the same')
The line that haunts me is:
'Perhaps he was the only son...' I have an image of a mother sitting at home hearing that her only child is dead. Oh dear. It gets me every time.

Pat said...

Debra: here here!

Leigh: it really doesn't bear thinking about but we can't stick our heads in the sand.