[2021-11-11] Remembrance Poppy
1921 was the first year that the remembrance poppy was worn in Canada, serving as a symbol to honour veterans who had lost their lives in the First World War. Inspired by John McCrae's poem "In Flanders Fields," Anna Guérin of France conceived the idea for the commemorative poppy to support veterans and others following the war.
As recounted in this video by the Royal Canadian Legion, 100 years later, the poppy endures in Canada as an emblem of the sacrifice of Canadian veterans from all arms of the military and all missions.
Whenever I see a red poppy, I can't help but think of John McCrae. A year ago today, I wrote about him in my post on Remembrance Day. Perhaps my own mortality and the heaviness of battling cancer at the time were weighing on my mind, but I was quite saddened by his story. The young doctor with the ineffable smile would write of "the tragedies of war." His biographer, John F. Prescott, would state in McCrae's 1985 biography: "He was never again the optimistic man with the infectious smile. His friends spoke of his change in temperament in subdued voices, feeling, as one said, that an icon had been broken."
From that broken icon came the iconic poem "In Flanders Fields," described as "the most famous poem of the Great War—perhaps of any war."
McCrae composed his famous verse in May 1915. He would pass away from double pneumonia and meningitis less than three years later, in January 1918. He was just 45.
I concluded my post from last year by saying: "McCrae likely never imagined that his poem would have the impact that it would go on to have. That is the thing about telling a story. One never knows where that story will end up or what it will mean to a reader—in the moment or even many years later."
Today, we mark 100 years of the poppy in Canada.
Coincidentally, today I also figured out why last night's Jenesis post wasn't showing up on the blog. When I went public with Jenesis on November 10, 2020, I didn't realize that the connection between Evernote (the application I use to write my posts) and Postach.io (the platform to which my posts are published) would last for precisely one year. It was too coincidental that my first public post was on November 10, 2020, and my last successful post was on November 10, 2021. When I searched "is there a one-year limit to postach.io," I learned that I need to reauthorize Postach.io's access to my Evernote folder every year, which I did this evening. I sincerely hope that I am here next year, commemorating Remembrance Day and continuing to share my story.
Lest we forget.
