Remembrance
By: Emma Sandra Shanley, BA & MA in English
There’s a faux poppy hanging from my rearview mirror. My mom always gets a few on Memorial Day. Her grandfather, who served in World War II, would wrap it around the base of his car’s rearview mirror and keep it there all year round. So, my mom does, too. Poppies are a well-known symbol for Memorial Day in the United States. This is because of a Canadian. In 1915 Belgium, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae wrote, “In Flanders fields the poppies blow between the crosses, row on row,” to memorialize the flowers that grew over the war-torn fields. It is a beautiful image: the persistence of Nature to bloom despite devastation. We now wear poppies to embody that perseverance to try to grow flowers from even the most hopeless of dirt. Memorial Day is observed through acts of remembrance as well as reflection: to remember those who have fallen and to reflect on what we have learned from and since. We are the poppies on the war-torn field; we are products of the past.
There’s a faux poppy hanging from my rearview mirror when I drive through Smokey’s front gate. There is a faux poppy in the foreground of my vision as I look towards Grace, who is eager to greet me or receive a little treat. Heidi refers to the front walk of Smokey as Memory Lane. As visitors and volunteers stroll along the fence line, they share memories. They share stories sparked by a brief touch of a snout or a gentle gaze. Tears are sometimes shed. Laughs emerge as well. It is quite beautiful. It is a poppy in a war-torn field.
The herd share their stories with us; well, Heidi and Bobby share what can be known about these creatures’ stories. Abuse, neglect, labor, and fatigue: these are common themes. However, with every shared gaze, gentle pat, and conversation that seems to transcend language towards understanding, a bright poppy blossoms in our hearts. Every day at Smokey consists of remembrance and reflection: we remember those we have lost and the hurt we have endured and reflect on how we remain standing and ever blossoming together still.
In 1917, R.W. Lillard published “America’s Answer” to McCrae’s poem: “Fear not that ye have died for naught, the torch ye threw to us we caught! Ten million hands will hold it high, and Freedom’s light shall never die! We’ve learned the lesson that ye taught in Flanders’ fields!” (Lillard, “America’s Answer”) There’s now a poppy hanging from the barn door.
