As you lay dying on Flanders Field,

What was it you could see?

Could you see the bright, free future

That your strength would make for me?

Or did you see the violent waste?

The deaths of brothers, friends –

Their screams to echo in your mind,

Until the very end.

As you lay dying on Flanders Field,

Was it worth it all?

You life, your faith, your hope –

All for your country’s call?

Could you see the point of war,

From your cold trench, alone?

Telling you what you knew inside,

You never would come home.

As you lay dying on Flanders Field,

Could you see the sky?

Burning your eyes until you saw

It was your time to die.

As you lay dead on Flanders field,

The battle carried on.

Until your comrades, new-found friends,

Were also dead and gone.

You no longer lie on Flanders Field,

Though battles still go on.

But I remember you, my friend,

And remembered you live on.

Copyright © Catriona Elizabeth Mowat 2006