{"id":5450,"date":"2010-11-11T04:06:38","date_gmt":"2010-11-11T09:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.net\/?p=5450"},"modified":"2014-11-10T15:35:49","modified_gmt":"2014-11-10T15:35:49","slug":"on-veterans-day-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/?p=5450","title":{"rendered":"On Veteran’s Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ninety-two years ago today, from the English Channel through the fields of Flanders, across the French frontier and into the Alps, the guns on the Western Front fell silent. World War I, one of the great follies in human history, came to its bitter end.<\/p>\n

As Garrison Keillor might say on The Writer’s Almanac<\/a><\/i>, two poems for today, Veteran’s Day.<\/p>\n

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
\nBetween the crosses, row on row,
\nThat mark our place; and in the sky
\nThe larks, still bravely singing, fly
\nScarce heard amid the guns below.<\/p>\n

We are the Dead. Short days ago
\nWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
\nLoved, and were loved, and now we lie
\nIn Flanders fields.<\/p>\n

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
\nTo you from failing hands we throw
\nThe torch; be yours to hold it high.
\nIf ye break faith with us who die
\nWe shall not sleep, though poppies grow
\nIn Flanders fields.<\/i>
\n    — John McCrae
\n        “In Flanders Fields”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"American<\/a><\/p>\n

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
\nEngland mourns for her dead across the sea.
\nFlesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
\nFallen in the cause of the free. <\/p>\n

Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
\nSings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
\nThere is music in the midst of desolation
\nAnd a glory that shines upon our tears. <\/p>\n

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
\nStraight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
\nThey were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
\nThey fell with their faces to the foe. <\/p>\n

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
\nAge shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.
\nAt the going down of the sun and in the morning
\nWe will remember them. <\/p>\n

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
\nThey sit no more at familiar tables of home;
\nThey have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
\nThey sleep beyond England’s foam. <\/p>\n

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
\nFelt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
\nTo the innermost heart of their own land they are known
\nAs the stars are known to the Night; <\/p>\n

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
\nMoving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
\nAs the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
\nTo the end, to the end, they remain.<\/i>
\n    — Laurence Binyon
\n        “For the Fallen”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ninety-two years ago today, from the English Channel through the fields of Flanders, across the French frontier and into the Alps, the guns on the Western Front fell silent. World War I, one of the great follies in human history, came to its bitter end. As Garrison Keillor might say on The Writer’s Almanac, twoContinue reading “On Veteran’s Day”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126],"tags":[459,321,14],"class_list":["post-5450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history","tag-flanders-fields","tag-veterans-day","tag-world-war-i","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5450\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.allyngibson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}