poppies for soldiers

fields of poppies
fields of gravestones

all traditions

and maybe
nonbelief
should leave a blank stone
with name and
service
on an even shape

I wish that poppies were
non-soporific
although
I guess the sleep effect
is good
in what the poppies mean

for
those who sleep beneath
the flowers
and the stones
and those who sleep elsewhere
for the same reason

after service
after sacrifice
should sleep

each
should sleep
until the final call
that would be
a gentle and firm word to say

wake now
you’re well

and all
now
shall be well

c l couch


photo by Laura M Goodsell on Unsplash


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.

(from) “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae