I stepped out yesterday,
with no money for food,
no money for rent.
Only a T-shirt, jeans, and shoes,
that's enough, I told myself.
In my bag, my laptop,
my copies, my pen.
I am writing two things now,
one book, Always Go Up,
and one novel about my life.
I have nothing in my hands,
but I have a dream in England,
to become a PhD doctor.
I don't know how I will pay,
I don't know how I will eat,
but I know I will make my dream come true.
The Archer Robin Hood
The
archer
Robin Hood
from Nottingham
Shire aligns himself
perpendicularly
to the target whilst notching
the drawn arrow from the quiver,
and draws the longbow’s bowstring to the
anchor point, aims, and then lets loose the shaft.
That flies through the air, hitting the bull’s-eye
to the cheers and jeers of foresters
in the English countryside, where
they have challenged him to an
archery contest, but
folly beguiles them,
rendering him
the outlaw,
Robin
Hood.
***
In the pursuit of happiness
Americans chase fortune and fame
gold galore and a place
where everyone knows their name
but they could tone it down a bit
and not go loudly announcing it
to all and sundry with every word
it seems infinitely preferable
if some are seen and never heard
but on the other hand in another land
while leading lives of quiet desperation
trapped in their traditional ways
the British hang on in hope
of distant future better days
and tho' always first to join a queue
there are the few exceptions who
break the rule at every chance
don't give a whit or backward glance
hats off to them for their contribution
as every generation needs a new revolution
Robin Hood's Last Shot
Ill-
fated
Robin Hood,
upon death’s bed,
shoots his last arrow
through an open window,
which, when it touches the ground,
will mark the spot to dig his grave
and where he will rest in peace under
a greenwood tree planted beside the site.
Sailing home to England
o'er the bounding main
oh to see those white cliffs
fields of green and feel the rain again
sailed away for a year and a day
an albatross following t'was a good sign
with wings wide-spread overhead
'tween tropics weather was fair all was fine
sailors know where the trade winds blow
and trust their compass true
but my days a'roving the briny deep are now done
I'm rolling down a rhumb line arc to you
le' tree, le' tree.
drop an apple to me.
le' tree, le' tree.
knock my head with a branch tree, please.
please?
pretty please?
with a cherry on top.
le' bush, le' bush.
pick a berry for me.
le' bush, le' bush.
blackberries or blue? you choose.
blackberries, strawberries, bananas count too!
le' tree gave me an orange,
le' bush picked a banana.
the both rhyme to me, I think.
no raspberries, no raspberries, they stinky to me.
no pears, no pears, they taste bad to me,
to le' tree, I plea.
Summer’s here, it’s hot at last.
Grass as brown as green,
And watering’s a thing of the past.
The driest season ever seen.
The weather forecast?
Full of red.
“It’s global warming,” so they said.
Water scarcity in every city,
Every town, every street.
Water companies’ profits up…
Now isn’t that a great pity?
A scandal. A crying shame.
While every tap runs dry,
They play the corporate game.
Wildfires rage across the land,
Mostly set by human hand,
Global warming blamed by the woke age…
While standard profit fuels the rage.
Stand in line with an empty cup…
Watch the water company stock go up.
Just one more month…
And the rains will come.
Cold.
Wet.
And no sun.
Into winter, the heat’s a lost memory.
The heathlands return…
Back to green,
Back to beautiful scenery.
A young bowler he liked to play cricket
In his career took many a wicket
the crowd he enthralls
as he shines up his balls
He tempts the Pommies to snick it
TABLE TENNIS
A keen young sportsman named Dennis
Favourite game is called table tennis
hits balls over the net
won many a set
A plumber when young an apprentice
The total bummer of our wasted Test summer….ahem
Does jar well below par no cigar not even a cafe creme
After another dafter dumber and dumber apophthegm
The tedium of this charlatan medium saying carpe diem
Couldn’t be any glummer still will take Baz to the ATM
Laughter him on a whim mending a forlorn torn hem
We pleaded tree needed to go not the Root but stem
Pretending will be happy ending Bazball’s Bethlehem
ECB & Key glib in tandem fib as random as a Lib Dem
English cricket’s viral spiral now coughing up phlegm
The gory gashes from Ashes lashes will still condemn
Then Stokes says that’s all folks was absolute mayhem
Jokes he’ll back in the 2027 eleven it’s us versus them
After hoax new Kiwi bloke evokes masterstrokes a gem
No longer going for broke a stronger bespoke requiem
Will coax the magic unlike the tragic Bazball "La Boheme"
No superhero cloaks as from acorns grow oaks says Flem
Labour party on the precipice pegging all hopes on Andy
Come forth the King of the North who’s more than handy
Begging voters with a new orifice in office sweet as candy
No self harmer Starmer karma so will be fine and dandy
Novice compared to Boris when it’s comes to being randy
Chequers not mecca for shady sort cohorts on the brandy
Burnham’s bid to get rid of the avarice & malice of Mandy
Andy no pinko champagne socialist working class shandy
The Mayor with flair and great hair becomes the grandee
Flashes those eyelashes an ego plea everyone look at me
Gooey cheese he does bestow like Barry Manilow’s Mandy
Don't tease Andy be a tandy & give muppet Farage a pandy
With new brand & a hand from Ed Milliband & Lisa Nandy
Free from company tyranny he’s not a puppet "Andy Pandy"?
The grass is the same in Buenos Aires and London
Argentina presses as Messi runs
National feelings, reduced to action
millions of fans with opposite reactions
England breathless as Kane goes to score
Argentina or England? Who will win one more?
One team will lose, and the other reach for glory
We're nearing the end of the World Cup story
.
Tomorrow 07/15/2026 3PM US, 9pm Paris
.
.
A song for this:
We Are the Champions (Live Aid) by Queen
On Youtube: youtu.be/FP808MiJUcM
I’ll be coming breaking loose
Out of my shell
Moving is the way I choose
Now it’s preferable
Down the easy street I’ll go
To the seaside bar
I’ll be curious to know
What the changes are
It’ll be good to hear the news
From the horse’s mouth
Who’s to win and who’s to lose
Who’s to flying south
Then I’d listen to the run
Of the lazy waves
Sitting on the muted sun
Smilingly I’d gaze
To the sea beneath my feet
And I’d breathe that air
Though there ain’t no easy street
That would lead me there
It’s the little nuance I
Should’ve taken to expense
Easy street’s detour sign
On the road work fence.
The Fabian Society
thought we are as smart as can be
so we should run the country
and it will be so lovely
Accounting for their intellect
they study hard for no respect
but as it’s all they ever know
they live up high with you below
And even with the brains they have
they never socialise and laugh
or play in teams that forge connection
clever people meet rejection
Never learned to read the people
self assured they have no equal
thought themselves to be attractive
though awkward and Ill adapted
Still they see themselves the best
even though they fail the rest
they think life is all about brains
with their emotions lacking range
Just busy letting logic flow
a natural skill is all they know
never left their comfort zone
a know it all who’s never known
America is celebrating 250 years of independence today.
In 1776, we declared independence and became the USA.
We celebrate by shooting fireworks on the 4th of July.
People will celebrate by shooting fireworks in the sky.
America is a strong country and that can't be denied.
If somebody says that the USA sucks, that person lied.
You can scream, 'cause you know
Nowhere else for you to go.
You can kill, pull a knife,
Point a gun, take a life.
But in the end, all will see,
You're a curse to their humanity.
The celeb spell that you cast
Made of nothing but tawdry glass.
You want life 'cause you know
Your money is nothing but a show.
We see your face, know your mind,
The rabid beast in your mankind.
Say you're better than the rest,
Hoist your flag, beat your chest.
Steal the land, poisoned soil,
Drunk on wine, while children toil.
Your masses on popcorn feast,
Worshiping their threadneedle beast.
Take a walk, hug a tree,
Know how life is meant to be.
Don't be caught, in their game.
More you watch, more they tame.
Dumb you down, make you weak,
Breath of innocence the ghouls all seek.
But Alpha Omega knows the plan
Here long before their race began.
Ghoulish time is short, built on tears
Their count in days, months, and years.
Bloody empires, we watched them fall,
Like their savage coliseum wall.
Life you choose, better, or worse,
In, or out, their hologram universe.
Joanna Davis
4th July 2026
England Categories
Definition | What is England in Poetry?
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.
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united kingdom, britain, commonwealth of nations, perfidious albion, the commonwealth, albion, blighty, britain, britannia, commonwealth of nations, great britain, land of the rose, limeyland, uk, united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland,