The Inquisitive Child – a Remembrance Day poem

My recordings are usually from the works of our great poet Robert Burns but every November I record a poem to mark Remembrance. This year I have chosen The Inquisitive Child – a Remembrance Day poem, the author of which is unknown but whose words seem appropriate when we live in such uncertain times.

Click here to listen: https://soundcloud.com/words-of-burns/the-inquisitive-child-a-remembrance-day-poem

“Why are they selling poppies, Mummy? Selling poppies in town today.

The poppies, child, are flowers of love. For the men who marched away.

But why have they chosen a poppy, Mummy? Why not a beautiful rose?

Because my child, men fought and died in the fields where the poppies grow.

But why are the poppies so red, Mummy? Why are the poppies so red?

Red is the colour of blood, my child. The blood that our soldiers shed.

The heart of the poppy is black, Mummy. Why does it have to be black?

Black, my child, is the symbol of grief. For the men who never came back.

But why, Mummy are you crying so? Your tears are giving you pain.

My tears are my fears for you my child. For the world is forgetting again.”

https://soundcloud.com/words-of-burns/the-inquisitive-child-a-remembrance-day-poem