... with you on your journey

Being British

A poem about being at peace, even in one's own country.

Preamble:
*Sips a cup of tea whilst leaning against a red phone booth whilst holding a bag of salt' n' vinegar chips whilst saying 'How do you do?' whilst a stereotypical policeman walks by singing 'God Save The Queen' whilst criminals wearing stripy pajamas rob a bank using sacks across the road in broad daylight and make their get away on a big red bus of which Cliff Richard is the driver who is serenading them with 'Summer Holiday' whilst the passengers sit in awkward silence stewing in social shame because they are amongst strangers whilst they wonder who is the psycho driving the bus and inappropriately engaging in joyous self-expression in a public place but it doesn't bother them for long as they are busy planning a list of soap operas to watch that night and whether to have their potatoes roasted, boiled or mashed whilst they browse through the paper to check to see what murders, rapes and muggings took place the previous day... because everyone likes a routine in England ;) It's just a shame that they had to look in the paper for these things (which is surely second rate) when they could have captured the bank robbery on their very own iphones (and posted it on Facebook) but they missed it as they had been too busy tweetin' about what they had in their sandwich that day*

I didn't used to like labelling myself as a Brit
In fact for a long time I thought that it was s**t
As the things it conjured in mind were not so pleasant
But now I'm rather happy as a simple English peasant

Before I go any further I would like to add
Another element of why I was not glad
I think it shallow to judge a person by their place of birth
It creates separation among the people of the earth

When I thought of Britain the things that I saw
Would make me think there surely must be more
To living on an isle as beautiful as this
Than all things I didn't like that made me feel p*****

I guess that I was just looking in the wrong direction
But luckily I have made a perceptual correction
I no longer think of Britain in that way
Now I observe things that make me want to stay

I used to think that we always had bad weather
Now the moody skies just make me think of heather
Blowing wildly on the moors in the countryside
Through which I love to walk or take a pleasant ride

Now instead of towns which are really crowded
I think of beautiful forests that are shrouded
In mist and the smell of pines and flowers
It's so peaceful that I could stay for hours

The history of Britain has some stunning tales
Which originate in Scotland, England and Wales
Now what I associate with my geographical roots
Are sea sides, seasons, forests, music, castles, bows and loots

So perhaps instead of dreaming about the tropics
I will explore some more of these British topics
I'll stay around and make myself a home where I can be
Appreciative of England and living happily

Each country is different with its own magic soul
And embodies a different aspect of the whole
World on which we live so let us love our own
Country from the heart and make ourselves at home

Angelkate