As I stood at the grave of an Unknown Soldier I bowed my head in respect I silently gave thanks for the sacrifice he and so many of his fallen comrades had made. My moment of quiet contemplation came to an end as a soft and gentle voice broke the silence.
‘Such a waste of life’.
Lost in my own thoughts, I failed to hear a veteran approach and stand next to me. I turned to face him as I said I would take a moment to pay my respects and leave a Poppy as a token of my thanks.
“Ah the poppy of remembrance; less you forget us. We gave so much and you give us a blood red poppy in return as a token of your appreciation”.
I don’t understand!
“That is why you have to make more and more poppies every year. You still don’t understand or have learnt the lessons from history that demanded our sacrifice. Your gratitude is a wonderful thing but there is little point in remembering us if you fail to learn from our death. In life, war is the ultimate obscenity and no amount of poppies will ever change that. We did not give our lives to be honoured by an artificial flower, but to help you recognise the futility of war so that you would never have to pay the price that we did. In that we have failed. If you wish to honour the fallen bow your head, say thank you for the time when you will choose peace over war, and the blood red poppy will be no more”.
Then he was gone and I was left alone with my thoughts and wondered if the day will ever dawn when the lesson is finally learnt and Remembrance Day becomes a day of celebration, of when the poppy is no more.
Phillip Hawkins