McCrae was a Canadian physician. He fought at the Western Front in 1914, but was later
moved to the medical corps and assigned to a hospital in France. He died of pneumonia
while on active duty in 1918. His "In Flanders Fields" is probably the
single best-known and popular poem from the war, published in his volume of poetry, In
Flanders Fields and Other Poems, 1919.
In Flanders Fields
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, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We 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 die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
This text is part of the Internet
Modern History Sourcebook. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and
copy-permitted texts for introductory level classes in modern European and World history.
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© Paul Halsall, July 1998
