Ariadne’s Notes:
World Poetry Café Radio Show with hosts Ariadne Sawyer, Neall Ryon , super tech Victor Schwartzman and volunteer Sharon Rowe welcomed the talented Candice James , Poet Emerita of New Westminster, in a special Memorial Day Celebration on October 10th on CFRO 100.5 FM with music and poetry.
To hear this fascinating show and listen to the Poet Laureate Emerita:
CLICK HERE!
Candice James was Poet Laureate of The City of New Westminster 2010-2016 and is currently Director of the Pacific Festival of the Book Society, founder of Royal City Literary Arts Society; “Poetic Justice”; “Poetry in the Park” and “Poetry New West.
She is Past President of the Federation of British Columbia Writers and is a full member of The League of Canadian Poets .
Candice is the recipient of World Poetry Empowered Poets Award; Bernie Legge Artist/Cultural award, Pandora’s Collective Citizenship award and she is the author of 11 books of poetry.
A Special Poem:
Architects Of Liberty
(For the 100th anniversary of The Battle Of Vimy Ridge April 9, 2017)
©Candice James, Poet Laureate, New Westminster, BC CANADA
The spirits of the fallen soldiers,*
Ghostly sentinels of the Vimy Oaks, still stand on guard;
They witness the return of the acorns
And know they are remembered and held in high regard.
They live on in our memory
Those architects of liberty,
Who gave their lives at Vimy Ridge;
Victims of war’s sacrilege.
They set their boots on foreign land;
Canada’s sons on command.
Gunfire echoed overhead.
Men fell wounded; men fell dead.
Reverberating through the years:
The emptiness and the tears;
The stain of anguish and bloodshed;
The silent bodies of the dead.
They gave their lives to keep us free,
Those architects of liberty.
We wear the blood red poppy…
Lest We Forget.
- Three thousand five hundred and ninety-eight (3,598) Canadian soldiers were killed during the battle of Vimy Ridge (April 9, 1917) but the result was an impressive victory over German forces. The “return of the acorns” acts as a reminder that their bravery and sacrifice will never be forgotten.
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