Poppy seeds, long dormant on the battlefields in Belgium and France, bloomed unexpectedly alongside the crosses and inspired a soldier, John McRae, more than a hundred years ago, to write a poem with words that still resonate with us today.

Poppies grow well in the Midwest and often by now are showing their colors. The red poppy, called the Flanders poppy, is just one of the many colors. They shine in shades of white to cream, bright orange, soft peach and pink, purple, plum, lavender, and deep mahogany. Imagine having a field of these in all the beautiful shades.

Poppies, with their papery thin blossoms, look delicate. They are not. They have been around for thousands of years. Like most perennials, they have deep underground roots that can produce for many years as they do on Flanders Fields. There are also annuals, biennials, and even shrublike cultivars that look like small evergreens.

California poppies come in a bright red, called Carmine King, or in Simply Orange. They grow prolifically in the deserts or dry areas, getting their water from spring moisture. They are short, maybe only an inch or so high, but they have a wonderful spreading habit. I have seen them covering a hillside, and it was a fantastic show.

John McRae, a physician, wrote a poem in 1915 after weeks of battle that killed many of his fellow soldiers. He wrote it in about 20 minutes, one would suspect in great sorrow and rage about the war. McRae died of pneumonia in 1918 just before the war ended.

In Flanders Fields (PoetryFoundation.org)

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, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.We are the Dead. Short days agoWe 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 dieWe shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

Duration: 54 seconds