Formatting helps get the rhythm and cadence...
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.
Have y’all seen the final Black Adder episode?
the mood of this great comedy series becomes quite somber. Characters of which we have become very fond, including Rowan Atkinson and a young Hugh Laurie, go over the top and, as they charge, their figures fade away and are replaced by the poppies of Flanders. Tough episode.
The sentiment of the third stanza distinguishes this poem from most war poems. IOW — finish the job.