Leonard Cohen Commemorates November 11th Wearing The Emblematic Poppy

November 11, 2012

Yesterday, when exiting the hotel in Seattle to  make my way to Portland for the next concert, I ran into Leonard Cohen with guitar on his back who was doing the same thing, albeit heading for a different vehicle.

I pointed to his poppy and recited the first two lines from the poem In Flanders Fields. Those two lines were all I could remember from my Toronto school days when we had to recite the poem every year to commemorate "Remembrance Day".

What happened next was thrilling.

But first, a little background,

Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries.

Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month," in accordance with the Armistice, signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning. ("At the 11th hour" refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 a.m.) World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919.

The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem "In Flanders Fields". These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red colour an appropriate symbol for the blood spilled in the war.

In Flanders Fields
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields

So what happened after I recited only the first two lines of the poem?

Leonard Cohen recited the entire poem back to me.

That was thrilling to say the least.

I call November 11th Remembrance Day. He referred to it as Armistice Day and added that his father was in the military and fought in the war.

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• Yes I will admit, it took a lot of chutzpah on my part to recite a few lines of a poem to Leonard Cohen
• More about the poem and author here
• Thanks to Kelsey (KaimikK) for snapping the great photo.