In Flanders Fields
SATB Choir and Piano. Not a "sacred" text, but one of the most well-loved poems in the canon of heroic sacrifice. Written by John McCrae and first published in 1915, the poem speaks of the soldier's ultimate sacrifice and serves as a command to the living to press on. We include Ron Martin's setting here, wonderful and deeply moving, for use in any service of remembrance.
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.