no, not the poppy
No, not the poppy in this remembrance
But the pale orchid
Hidden by clumps of thick bamboo
Shadowed by black banana leaves
Stencilled against a golden sky, a brilliant night
No, not the poppy in this remembrance
But the pale orchid
Alone and flowering
Above the scorpion
Crawling with all its deadly sting
Where the snake curves and spits out venom
No, not the poppy in this remembrance
But the pale orchid
Leaning towards the unknown graves
Long overgrown and lost forever
Hiding the bones whose flesh was once
Concerned with parishes through half of England
No, not the poppy
But the pale orchid
Blooms in the dark of this remembrance
Dennis Griffiths Far East Prisoner of War
This poem was the inspiration for the painting Not the Poppy
