25 April 2010

ANZAC Day

(Soldiers from the New Zealand Defence Force stand Guard in Afghanistan, courtesy NZDF website)

After the experience in Flanders Fields, the British Commonwealth chose the poppy to symbolize the sacrifice of Commonwealth troops. Fittingly, a poem written for ANZAC Day rings just as true now as it did then.

Why are they selling poppies, Mummy?
Selling poppies in town today.
The poppies, child, are flowers of love.
For the men who marched away.

But why have they chosen a poppy, Mummy?
Why not a beautiful rose?
Because my child, men fought and died
In the fields where the poppies grow.
Lastly, I tried to find a good clip from the film "Gallipoli", but the best one I could find is a version dubbed in Italian. The basics are simple enough to grasp, although some of the more subtle points ("What are your legs, son?") might get lost in translation.


1 comment:

Unknown said...

These two countries have been good friends and better allies for a long time. I can remember cross-training for a couple of weeks with the Australian SAS. Great guys except they talked funny.

I also recall that when I was a kid, everyone used to wear poppies for Veterans Day. Another one of those good things that have disappeared from contemporary life.