I'VE seen them in the morning light, When white mists drifted by: I've seen them in the dusk o' night Glow 'gainst the starry sky. The slender waving blossoms red, Mid yellow fields forlorn: A glory on the scene they shed, Red Poppies in the Corn. I've seen them, too, those blossoms red, Show 'gainst the Trench lines' screen, A crimson stream that waved and spread Thro' all the brown and green: I've seen them dyed a deeper hue Than ever nature gave, Shell-torn from slopes on which they grew, To cover many a grave. Bright blossoms fair by nature set Along the dusty ways, You cheered us, in the battle's fret, Thro' long and weary days: You gave us hope: if fate be kind, We'll see that longed-for morn, When home again we march and find Red Poppies in the Corn. |