The First Red Poppy

If you have loved and lost someone, this one's for you.

This is the first red poppy bloom I've seen this year. It is growing in my neighbor's front yard along the road, and so I stopped to snap some photos. It had been raining off and on the entire day, and the poppy was covered in water droplets that might have seemed like tears.

In some countries, poppies are a sign of remembrance, especially for those lost in World War I. It is indeed Memorial Day weekend here in the U.S., and so perhaps this is a fitting image for me to post for this weekend.

Some say Memorial Day is only for soldiers lost in war, but where I come from, remembrance day is for celebrating and honoring ALL of those who have passed before us into the Next Place. It is a day for decorating graves, and is also known as Decoration Day.

And so here is my photo in honor of all of those who have gone before us, including some of the ones I have loved best of all.
With love and tears. . . .
And with promises to remember, always.
<3

The soundtrack song is Warren Zevon, with Keep Me In Your Heart.
With bonus versions by:
The Wailin' Jennys
Eddie Vedder

Shadows are fallin' and I'm runnin' out of breath
Keep me in your heart for a while
If I leave you it doesn't mean I love you any less
Keep me in your heart for a while