i remember

This week I have been thinking about past Remembrance Day ceremonies when we could attend in person. The somber gathering of respect and gratitude. The stories told on the faces of those who have served our country. The lone trumpet fills the air as it plays The Last Post. A moment of silence where the only sound is the rustle of leaves twisting in the late fall wind. The fighter jets overhead as wreaths are laid in memory of the fallen.

I took this picture at a Remembrance Day service several years ago. It was a gloomy, freezing day and I had spent the better part of the ceremony trying to keep my young sons quiet and wanted nothing more than a silent moment of reflection. But then the fighter flew jet overhead and it took my breath away. In the roar of the jet I found the solitude to reflect that I had been seeking the whole service.

This year, in honour of and gratitude for those who so valiantly fought to defend our freedoms, I wrote a poem. In a time when we are all working through the pandemic-land challenges in our own way we can take comfort in those who who have gone before and who are looking over us.

I Remember

Like a bird in the sky

You watch over me.

And I, I look up to you.

On this day I remember.

On this day I pause.

Grateful for sacrifices of the past.

Grateful for the knowing of the present.

With a heart full of gratitude.

A heart full of hope.

And an eye to the future.

You watch over me.

And I, I watch over you.

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