English and Proud
The first men strode across glacier and ice sheet
Hunting woolly mammoth
Rarely glimpsing the land beneath their feet.
The glaciers melted and the sea broke through
Creating an island
On whose fertile lands great forests grew.
A bounteous land rich in nature’s wares
Supporting much life
Including wolves, beavers and bears.
This time, man came to settle the lands
Hunting and farming
In a multitude of tribal bands.
From Denmark, France and Germany
With their language and culture
They prospered and became many.
Peopling forests with their fears and imagination:
Trolls, goblins and sprites
They created what became the English nation.
Invasions from the Celt, Viking, Norman and Roman
Mixing genes and ways
Incorporated to become English yeomen.
Through days of Empire we expanded our range
Incorporating more and more
And riding the great change.
Welcoming refugees fleeing persecution
Providing a home
With a stay of execution.
Huguenots, Sikh, Asian, African and Jew
Flocked to the freedom
Of the spirit that our English people knew.
It all coalesced into the English we know,
A world derived mongrel
With a genetic charged dynamo!
Confused English people of their heritage vague
Seeking a culture
That they shun like the plague.
All the stronger for the cultures we’re mixing
Enriched and enhanced
In no need of fixing.
Black, brown, yellow or white
All English and proud
And sharing the right.
Opher – 12.6.2020
Nice
Thank you.