Still fields of scarlet poppies blow <br /> on long abandoned battle fields. <br />The bones of dead men hid below <br /> will feed their roots increasing yields. <br /> <br />The few survivors are now all dead. <br />Rejoined the comrades that they knew. <br />So we remember in their stead. <br />The many who salute the few. <br /> <br />Now Patch is dead he was the last <br /> veteran who survived the war <br />A living relic from the past <br />who lived a hundred years and more. <br /> <br />There�s no one left who can recall <br /> the muddy trenches and the gas. <br />The pain of seeing comrades fall. <br />He watched the long years slowly pass. <br /> <br />He never sought publicity. <br />He was a very private man <br /> but became a celebrity <br />The last surviving veteran. <br /> <br />Each year the scarlet poppies grow <br />On Flanders Fields abundantly <br />The countless dead who lie below <br />Have earned their place in history. <br /> <br />By foolish useless sacrifice <br />They gave their lives to end all war <br />I think they paid to high a price. <br />The world is as it was before. <br /> <br />Men are still killing other men <br /> but now much more efficiently <br />Each year we fail to learn again <br /> the lessons taught by history. <br /> <br />There are no winners in a war. <br />There never was nor will there be. <br />But men will fight for evermore. <br />It�s human nature seemingly.<br /><br />ivor or ivor.e hogg<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-blooming-shame/
