Poppies for Remembrance

This morning was dull and it had been raining , but before I went into school I wanted to take some close-ups of the buds on the poppies. The iPhone didn't quite "cut the mustard" so out came my old Canon but I had to rediscover how to take macro shots, as I haven't used this camera for sometime.

This was the best shot and I was quite pleased with the detail, then later this afternoon, the whole of the flower was holding its face up to the sun before the rain came again.

I don't think I have ever looked at the way the buds open to allow the crumpled petals to open up and it is quite amazing to see.

Poppies are a symbol of remembrance for the men and women who have died in conflicts all over the world, and reminds me of this poem:

In Flanders Field

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.

John McCrae