POPPIES FOR REMEMBRANCE

First published in November 2020

Scarlet poppies can flutter
like fragile butterflies
in the dry yellow corn
of summer.

And they can dance
like graceful ballerinas
among the feathery stalks
of barley.

Red poppies can glow
like bright little lamps
on our warm winter coats
in November.

And they can whisper
like long-lost voices
from the forgotten fields
of Flanders.