Today, November 11th, in Canada is Rememberance Day. The symbol of this day is the Poppy because of the poem In Flanders Fields by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. He wrote it after witnessing the death of a friend. The day after performing the funeral service himself (because no chaplain was available), he penned it while sitting on the back of an ambulance. McCrae later threw the poem away, but friends retrieved it and sent it to newspapers in England.
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.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.