403 www.on.legion.ca ONTARIO COMMAND A Single Poppy: The Weight of Memory The power of a single symbol - the poppy- to carry the collective grief, gratitude, and hope of generations. Pushing the pin of a poppy, it puncturing into your shirt. Letting it sit on your chest, and gleam with pride. How does such a small, delicate flower carry such immense meaning? Its origins are deep, and there are thousands of untold stories behind one single poppy. The poppy is the true symbol of Remembrance Day. Imagine the poppy, after the smoke has cleared. The shells that churned up the soil of the unfertile ground. The physical poison from the dirt that it grew from. It opens its blossom and turns its face to the sun. Then thousands more join in it in a harmonious symphony, coming up from the ground to thank the soldiers as well. A sheet of red covers the ground. Not of blood, but of the beauty of nature and new life in the midst of complete destruction and death. What would a soldier have thought, to see a beacon of red, shining through the ashes? How would it have felt to see such beauty amongst destruction? A soft tear rolls down the soldier’s cheek. He is astonished by the beauty. That life has found a way. The poppy connects all Canadians across the country. When we wear it, we are connected to countless people who have done the same. People who have lost family due to the war, people who fought in it, and people who make it their mission to honor our heroes of old. We are all united under the poppy, honoring the people who served, and it reminds all of us of how we are to strive for peace and for freedom. Imagine a boy, in the prime of his life. Not just living, but prospering. He is fulfilling his dreams. But then the first shot rings out through the air. And as brother turns on brother, country on country, our world breaks out into war. This boy, as human as anyone else on this earth, sacrifices himself for our country, his family, and for millions of people. This boy knows he might never see home again. and even if he does, his life will never be the same. Once being a boy, he is now a man. Fighting bravely for the ones he loves, and for millions more. He is giving up everything he has. A true sacrifice. Wearing the poppy is both a responsibility, and a promise. It is for those who gave up their humanity, and became a member of war, a place where there is no such thing as life, but survival. For a young man with everything to lose, this sacrifice is greater than most of us will make in our entire lives. Yet we know that wearing a poppy is a commitment and not just a symbol. It is a promise to never forget the freedoms we have, the loved ones that surround us, and to strive for a world where such sacrifices are no longer necessary. A field of bright red poppies blows in the wind, absorbing the late evening sun. Each of the millions of poppies in this field is telling a different story. Each carrying the memory of a different soldier. Each holding on to the hope and promise of a better world, carrying on what the Candian soldiers started. The same goes for each poppy that each Canadian pins onto their chest. That now we carry the hope and promise of a brighter future, and the responsibility to never forget. To know that even in war, trials, and tribulations, life continues. To follow the sacrifice of the Canadian soldiers and to hold sacred the poppy the bearer of new life.
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