The story of the poppy begins not with celebration, but with devastation. During World War I, the constant shelling and trench digging in Belgium and northern France tore open the ground, stirring up seeds that had lain dormant for years. When spring came, fields once soaked in blood turned red with wild poppies. It was this sight that inspired Canadian army doctor and poet John McCrae to write "In Flanders Fields" in 1915. Surrounded by death, he saw fragile flowers growing among the crosses an