Across fields and gardens
Poppies spread
Blood red petals
Bow their heads
In sorrowful memory
Of battle dead
From countless wars
Of hatred bred

Millions of petals,
Millions of tears
Millions of men,
Thousands of years
Oceans of blood,
Hearts full of fear
Legions of Poppies
Where the lost
disappeared

Once a year
Wear your Poppy with
pride
Remember forever
Those who have died
Remember too
The Statesmen who lied
But mostly remember
The women who cried

So when brilliant red
petals
Cover the floor
Let them remind us
Of the horror of war
Let there be hope
And an end to the gore
Let's pray for peace
And hostility no more

Pauline Clifford

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/poppies-10/