Saturday, March 04, 2023

England and Europe: Breaking the Bond

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL AFFAIRS


England and Europe

 

“Someday we shall have to choose

between England and Europe.”

 

-- James Joyce, The Exiles

 

Brexit marked the end of a unified Europe

The English in their wisdom

Severed the bond that held the promise

of a bright and prosperous future

It seems the English have always seen

themselves above the continent

Not so for Ireland, Scotland, Wales

England casts her lot with America

The mighty land across the sea

The land that tore itself from Britain’s

royal bondage

The land that to this day speaks its

variations of Shakespeare’s tongue

The Irish form their own bonds across

the channel and the sea

The Scottish and the Welsh have

their own independent notions

Dependence on the British is at an end

They saw it coming long ago

The disintegration of the monarchy

The fraying of the isles

We see it coming still

In a world of great uncertainty

We see it with good will

 

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