These symbolic poppies that we are supposed to be wearing these days are just a nuisance. They keep slipping off the jacket lapels, the collars on the blouses or get brushed off winter coats. They never seem to last, the pins are lame, the centres fall out sometimes and if you don't put them on just right, they'll either disappear altogether or we get those sharp pin pricks of pain as we lean over our work and discover that the way we have anchored them on our clothing is painfully wrong.
We wish we didn't have to wear these poppies ... they really are a nuisance.
But then, getting an arm or a leg shot off in the name of democracy is a nuisance too.
Being bitten by rats in cold and muddy trenches is somewhat of a nuisance, we would think.
Swallowing lethal gases of war, not fun.
Losing teenaged loved ones in a foreign country or having them come home facing years of therapy to relieve themselves of post traumatic stress disorder (shell shock) can be downright frustrating, can't it?
Living in prisoner of war camps for years, barely staying alive on diets of gruel and bugs while being subjected to the worst of man's inhumanity towards his fellow man can be a nuisance at times.
Being shot out of the skies, having your flesh burned with no magic drugs immediately available to ease the pain ... that's a nuisance.
Going down in a ship on the high seas, or being trapped in a military tank with no means of escape ... that's probably more than a mere nuisance.
Booking flights for long trips overseas to visit the resting place of those you should have known and loved, but didn't get the chance ... that's nuisance.
Having to learn to hate those who you should be embracing in fellowship instead. Not a great feeling.
So yes, trying to hang on to that poppy on your collar can get a little frustrating.
Forget the inconvenience.
Don't forget what it symbolizes.
Wear it and recall, or if you're too young to remember, then wear it and make the effort to learn why you're wearing it.
Life can be full of horror and also full of hope.
The poppy reminds us of both.
