I was quiet today at 11 but not deliberately so. I later read that people all over Europe observed the two-minute period of silence then in remembrance of the bloodiest war ever. I wish that I'd observed with them. I completely forgot this was Armistace Day until I saw the all the poppies illustrating an editorial in today's Times discussing the day's resonance in various countries, and I was reminded of this statue that stands near the skating rink in Prospect Park. There are something like 6 bronze panels affixed to the wall behind it, each bearing names of the dead. 2 panels are gone. Death holds 2 poppies and a suggestive seed pod in her hand as she reaches for the soldier who leans into her embrace. When I first looked up at the couple, they scared me. They are positioned facing away from the lake, towards the parking lot. As for who made this and when, or what happened with the lost panels of names, I have no idea.
2 comments:
That's the Brooklyn Honor Roll, listing 2500 local men and women who died in World War I. It was dedicated in 1921. Augustus Lukeman was the sculptor (his Strauss Memorial on upper Broadway is also rather affecting). The missing plaques are supposedly in storage. Note that seed pod, a poppy (opium) pod if I've ever seen one; suggests the endless sleep of death.
Good to know, thanks. I don't think any memorializer would get to associate death on the battle field with sex and opium these days. Not so much.
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