Poppies
Fr Robert Dennis was ordained by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Cape Town. Latterly Fr Robert was a parish priest in France (Anglican Diocese of Europe). Fr Robert and his wife now live in retirement on Sydenham Hill.
Inspired by last Sunday’s service Fr Robert sent in these lines that he wrote down after a visit to the war graves in Ypres, Belgium:
Lectio Devina
In Flanders Fields, across the world
In Flanders fields where poppies grow
……………Row by row
Stands head stones firm and bold
Telling stories of soldiers of old
some still in years of teen
Life lived short, loves unseen
…………….Row by row
Visited now by crowds who dare
At these sites of pilgrimage stare
Click, click, with camera capture
The names of the departed fracture
………………..Row by row
Still war goes on day by day
We could learn if we may For peace of the world to pray
O God no more of this we say
In fields across the world poppies still grow
…………..….Row by row
Bernhard Schunemann
16 November 2025
