Red Poppies (A loving tribute to every fallen soldier)

Quiet field at the edge of town Grass grown wild where the guns laid down Names carved small on a weathered stone Wind reads out the ones gone home Red poppies Bright against the gray Every petal says a name we can’t say We remember in the silence In the rustle of the leaves Red poppies Are the prayers pinned to our sleeves Old man stands in his Sunday coat Hands still shake as he clears his throat Leaves one flower where his brother fell Carries stories he can barely tell Red poppies Bright against the gray Every petal says a name we can’t say We remember in the silence In the rustle of the leaves Red poppies Are the prayers pinned to our sleeves Across oceans Across time Same red bloom in a stranger’s shrine Different languages Same slow tear Same soft promise We keep you here Red poppies Bright against the gray Every petal says a name we can’t say We remember in the silence In the rustle of the leaves Red poppies Are the prayers pinned to our sleeves Red poppies…. Every petal says a name