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Please Call Home
by Tony Whitaker
Afternoon tea on the veranda
Battenberg, fruit cake or Victoria sponge
Our mother, dear England,
who gave birth
To American dreams.
If not for the French
And their win at Chesapeake
There would be no Yorktown
Friends who sent us a lady
Will always stand for the free.
When we were all brothers
When the world was at war
We fought for our countries
But we fought for much more.
We stood side by side
Making cracks about blokes
But when it came to the fighting
The Jerrys' the jokes.
What this twaddle and these banal
Words come to mean
Im glad to be an American
But dont forget mother
And your friends overseas.
10/08/2008 Author's Note: Just a little ditty. Living here in Switzerland I feel all Western Europe looks to the US as a leader of in certain areas, like finance and living the American Dream. It's just that we constantly pat ourselves on the back, but it is from their perspective not helped by rude tourists as I have seen since I have been here. When you come over to visit, just be polite and expect to meet some rude people exactly like you will in the States, sometimes just because you won't speak their language. But people here, overall, are much more friendly and somewhat innocent when it comes to the 'dog eat dog' mentality in America. But maybe my perspective will change over time. I have lived here only 7 months. Give me 7 years and let's see, but I hope to be back, to our mountain home on the Pigeon river of North Carolina, by then.
Posted on 10/08/2008
Copyright © 2024 Tony Whitaker
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Alison McKenzie on 10/08/08 at 06:50 AM Oh, I would so love to be you, to be able to see it from your perspective. |
| Posted by Charlie Morgan on 10/08/08 at 02:44 PM ...sorta like Butler in Erewhon, this is a good 'straightner' pome, a good reminder... |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 10/08/08 at 04:11 PM Definitely a good reminder. We can't turn around with brushing a shoulder. I hope life is treating you well (what am I thinking? you are in heaven!!) |
| Posted by Ken Harnisch on 10/08/08 at 04:57 PM Kind words for the French...how differently refreshing. But I secretly long for the day, Tony, when I can take the word 'Freedom' out of the fries I order. Wise and well-said epitaph, too. |
| Posted by Glenn Currier on 08/16/09 at 12:55 AM I really appreciate the respect, the thoughtfull-ness in this. The appreciation of the role France and other Europeans had in our victories. How easily we forget and get tied up in our own ethnocentrism. Yes, now-a-days especially, I wonder what others must think of our aggressive and cruel side. I love my country too, but I am also sometimes ashamed of our shameful behavior. Thanks Tony. |
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