Ever since Garrett died, Remembrance Day has become such a personal time for me. I will never forget him, his death, or any of the Canadians and their families who gave it all up for our country!

This poem is dedicated to Garrett Chidley (March 22nd 1988-December 30th 2009) and his family, for whom my heart ruptures and aches with your loss. He was a great Canadian, and a great student.
May his memory forever be in our souls!

Remember

For Garrett who sacrificed
his life at 21.

Remember (English)

For my mother
who never met her father.

Lizkor (Hebrew)

For Gita Kron who witnessed
her daughter being taken to Auschwitz.

Gud'nq'n (Yiddish)

For my dad who got used to
seeing his friends die by his side.

Wathkur (Arabic)

For John McCrae who left us
the legacy of his poem.

Cofiwch (Welsh)

For the Danes who refused
to be Hitler's canaries.

Husk (Danish)

For the men and boys who sat in
the trenches yearning for their mothers.

Sonje (Haitian Creole)

For the brave women who
stayed at home, keeping the world afloat.

Kumbuka (Swahili)

For the hundreds of thousands
who died in the irrepressible flames.

Oboete iru (Japanese)

For Anne, who let us
walk with her to death.

Herinneren (Dutch)

For the women and girls
who lost their humanity and dignity.

Yadet miyad (Farsi)

For the fathers and brothers stolen

in the non compos mentis cleanse.

Zapamtitti (Croatian)

For those who forfeited 

the joy of ever walking again.

Merken (German)

For those who lived
to suffer their days in horror.

Rappeler (French)

For the sake of those

who gave up everything for PEACE.

LEST WE FORGET!

Sally