Plenty student’s poem receives accolades

Ben MacDonald is a Grade 12 student at North West Central School in Plenty. He placed first in the Zone Level and second in the District Level for his poem “Echoes of the Maple Red” in the Legion’s Remembrance Day contest. Congratulations, Ben!

Echoes of the Maple Red

By Ben MacDonald

In quiet fields where wild winds sweep,
The fallen lie in gentle sleep,
A thousand miles from home they rest,
Each soldier’s dream, a nation’s crest.

From Vimy’s heights to Holland’s shore,
Their footsteps carved forevermore,
Through muddy trenches, frozen air,
They held our hopes and answered prayer.

Through storms of fire, in darkened skies,
They fought beneath the watchful eyes
Of comrades bound by oath and name,
In shadowed ranks, through smoke and flame.

They left behind the life they’d known,
The laughter shared, the seeds they’d sown,
To guard a world they’d never seen,
So others here might yet be free.

In lands where winter stars align,
They bore the flag and crossed the line.
Our guardians strong, both fierce and kind,
Their courage etched in heart and mind.

Now poppies bloom where once they fell,
Their silent stories rise and swell,
In whispered leaves, in rivers wide,
Their legacy, our nation’s pride.

And though their voices faded fast,
Their spirit holds, their light will last.
They speak in every sunrise bright,
And call to us with morning’s light.

So let us stand, with hearts unbowed,
To honor them in solemn crowd.
For in each red-leafed autumn tree,
Their spirit soars, forever free.