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I will not wear a Poppy

Posted by smokejack on November 5, 2009 - 16:29

I will not wear a Poppy

I will not wear a poppy
For Remembrance Day
The self righteous will be up in arms
In their own ignorant way

I’ll try not to remember
What the poppy represents
Though I’m reminded each November
About wars that made no sense

I of course will not forget
Those who died in war
I know that I owe a debt
To those who have gone before

But I will not wear a poppy
To avoid being cast aside
I will not be like a Hitler youth
Being forced to join the tribe

I will not wear a poppy
And force my sympathy out
I remember every soldier with pride
I have no need to shout

A poppy cannot hide my tears
For soldiers that can’t come back
A war that claimed so many years
Is alive in Afghanistan and Iraq

Soldiers are buried across this world
In every bloodstained region
There is no flag I will unfurl
To the mourning of a legion

I will not wear a poppy
And keep alive the blame
Every war that has occurred
Was never in my name

© SJ2009

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Comments

tcook | November 5, 2009 - 16:49

A fair point well made. I cannot say that I have ever been a complete pacificist - I would have fought in WW2 and I am still undecided about Afghanistan - but no other war of the past 100 years would have taken me in. I therefore do buy a poppy, although I didn't for some time, but I loathe the bullying that has gone on this year - especially from the Daily Mail - in order to make everyone conform.

smokejack | November 5, 2009 - 17:43

'the world would be a better place if the parents had to eat the sprouts'

Cheers TC

I'm a pacifist but I imagine if I'd been around at the time of WW2 I may have stood up to be counted against Hitler, but then again Britain ignored Franco's destruction of Spain during the civil war and this was a precursor to WW2 so we didn't exactly help ourselves.

As for The Daily Mail it doesn't count for anything in my life other than derision.

Thanks for compliment on poem.

Cheers

Jack

insertponceyfre... | November 5, 2009 - 22:32

I really enjoyed this poem. I also hate the way they make it a crime not to wear a poppy, and I make a point of not doing so, xx