In Retrospect
The world asks a great deal of the poppies,
insists they carry the wounds of war
and shoulder the weight of remembrance.
Such flimsy, wavering plants;
we painted their flowers the colour of blood
and punched dark holes in their heads
as if bullets had passed through,
then trimmed them with green sprigs of hope.
And from deep in the seeds we concocted
the essence of sleep and dreams and resting-in-peace.
Almost weightless even in full bloom
we made them souls, the poppies, souls
of those who we lost, and – let it be said –
those who we killed.
Poppies – nursed in darkness, nourished by dirt.
But for all their spindly roots, frail stalks
and papery petals – as easily smudged
as a butterfly wing –
they joggle into existence
again and again, unearthing themselves
in fallow fields and railway sidings,
on roundabouts, verges and no man’s land,
from the brickwork of old chimneys and bridges
and cracks in the pavement.
They nod and they nag,
reminding us not to forget, flagging a red alert
as their crumpled petals unfold.
So, rightly, the poppies ask a great deal of the world.
Simon Armitage
Commissioned by Historic Royal Palaces to mark
the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two in 2025.
reprinted by kind permission of:
Simon Armitage, Poet Laureate
through his agent: Kirsty McLachlan
Poppies growing through concrete, near where I live
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