Moina Michael: A Teacher Read a Poem… Now Millions Wear a Red Poppy

Two days before a terrible war ended, a teacher read a poem in a magazine.

She had just 10 dollars and one idea.

Today, millions of people wear her idea every November.

This is the story of Moina Michael.

Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.

Magazine. A magazine is a thin book with stories and pictures.

It comes out every week or every month.

She looked through a new magazine.

Poppy. A poppy is a flower, often bright red, with soft, thin petals.

The poem was about soldiers and red poppies.

Promise. A promise is when you say that you will really do something.

She made a promise.

Silk. Silk is a soft, smooth and shiny cloth.

She found 25 silk poppies.

Pin. When you pin something, you fix it to your clothes with a small, sharp piece of metal.

The past is pinned.

The men pinned the poppies on their coats.

Now, one pattern: remind, plus a person, plus of, plus a thing.

We use it when one thing makes us think of another.

The poppy makes people think of the soldiers.

The poppy reminds people of the soldiers.

Ready? Let's begin.

Moina Michael was a teacher from Georgia, in the American south.

In 1918, she was working in New York, helping young Americans who were going to the war in Europe.

She loved flowers, and she kept fresh flowers in the office.

On Saturday 9 November 1918, she sat at her desk and looked through a new magazine.

On one page was a poem, "In Flanders Fields".

It begins: "In Flanders fields the poppies blow."

The poem was about soldiers and red poppies.

The poppies grew on the fields where the soldiers lay.

Moina felt it deeply.

She made a promise: she would always wear a red poppy.

The red flower would remind people of the soldiers.

She wrote her promise as a short poem, on the back of an old envelope.

Just then, three men came to her desk.

They gave her 10 dollars, to thank her for all the flowers.

Moina smiled. She said she would buy 25 red poppies with it.

Soon, everyone at the meeting wanted a poppy to wear.

But it was November in New York.

Where could she find red poppies?

She went out into the cold city and searched the shops.

At last, in a big department store, she found 25 silk poppies: one large poppy and 24 small ones. Just enough.

That evening, she came back with her flowers, and the men crowded around her.

The men pinned the poppies on their coats.

Each little red flower reminded them of the soldiers.

She kept the last one for herself.

Two days later, the war ended.

Moina did not forget her promise, and she told everyone about the poppy.

In 1920, the American Legion, a large group of soldiers back from the war, chose it as its flower.

Then a French woman, Anna Guérin, heard about the idea.

She made poppies to help families in France, and she took them to Britain.

In 1921, Britain chose the red poppy too.

Back home in Georgia, Moina taught soldiers who had come home hurt.

Many needed money and work, so she sold silk poppies to help them.

People called her the Poppy Lady.

In 1948, America put her face on a stamp, thirty years to the day after her 25 poppies.

Today, millions of people wear a red poppy every November.

It still reminds people of the soldiers.

Let's review. She looked through a new magazine.

The poem was about soldiers and red poppies.

She made a promise.

She found 25 silk poppies.

The men pinned the poppies on their coats.

And remember: the poppy reminds people of the soldiers.

Moina Michael's story teaches us: one small promise can help the whole world remember.

Want more interesting lessons?

Go to brightlivesenglish.com.

Please subscribe and learn with us.