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What it was all about!
JULY FOURTH.
Enjoy Independence Day, Margaret!
Enjoy your chosen land.
You're very proud of America
And that I can understand.
We started our lives back in England;
I came South and you went West,
And the U.S.A. and Australia
Both seem to have passed the test.
Your happy beach-side photo
With the grandchildren having fun,
Made me think of Iwojima
And a battle that was won.
The one shot full of bloodshed,
The other a carefree scene,
Yet the one would not be possible
If the other had never been.
Because of our antecedents
We both live in peace today,
So enjoy Independence Day, Margaret,
In a truly American way.
(I suppose you're really celebrating getting rid of the Brits! Too bad!)
A little shared British patriotism here:
5 comments:
I celebrate my privileges -- and to honor those who died to see that I got to keep them. I am less proud of America these days then I have been in the past, but I still count my blessings because I have the right to a voice and an opinion about how this country is run at all!
Brenda, well done! Alas,I'm the sole remaining veteran in my family....I just now realised that. Thank you for the kind verse, here :)
@quilly, well put and you are not alone!
Look here, Brenda.
http://tinyurl.com/mcqxcm
Yes, that is why I do not make a big deal of going to the BBQs and the like and, it is true, it has been hard to be proud of finally being a citizen these past years. The independence part is important and so the ambivalence is all there, but at least one can say something without going to jail. I do love England, but just to visit for as long as I want and then to return happily to my new roots. Thank you for bringing the past to the fore in such a triumphantly picturesque way.
What a great poem, Brenda! The following lines, especially, were powerful and touched my heart:
The one shot full of bloodshed,
The other a carefree scene,
Yet the one would not be possible
If the other had never been.
Thanks for sharing.
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