Sidney Beck Poet Sonnet

England

ENGLAND


Cool ways through undulating field of grains
Giving way to chrysanthemum hills, chalk-manned *
Off to the north the low mountains
And lakes mark the land limit of England.


But the England of the mind stretches far
Around the world to people who own
The freedom to think and speak; and are
Without  orders  from trumpet, drum, or crown.


The ways, the laws, of England’s foundation
Are hated by despot and dictator,
Revealing the weakness of the tyrant’s nation,
Marked by hills manned with  battlefield armour.


‘mums  -  and high tea with buttered crumpets *
Speak louder than battered drums and trumpets.

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Notes

1….    “chalk-manned”  -  many of  the chalk hills of Southern England 
have a carving in their bedrock showing  a horse or a man.

2….    ‘mums ….is a common abbreviation  for    “chrysanthemums”

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Carrie Richards June 11, 2012 at 5:49 PM I love the way you summed this one up!! Excellent !! Sidney Beck June 12, 2012 at 12:40 AM Carrie, thank you very much for your support and kind comments.....the ENGLAND poem was in my mind a long time but I didnt want it to be too sloppy sentimental or jingoistic..."buttered crumpets" and "battered trumpets" was an obvious combo but I had to struggle for the "...'mums..."....and then go back to the earlier verse and insert "chrysanthemums" so that it made sense...you know how it goes ...best wishes Syd