The English

BREXIT and Covid divided the nation
Now they do not speak
Of what makes them angry
People just want to get on
With the issues of the day in peace

Ukraine is supported
There is hostility to illegal migrants
From the multicolored faces of England
They forget their own journeys to this place

The streets are full and the skylines growing
The brands change but the salesmen adapt
Projecting competence
Without answering detailed questions
Cryptic silence hides stories behind smiles

So many runners on the street
Or fat men on expensive bikes
Extreme sports push boundaries
As high achievers strive for higher
But many seem stretched thin, almost breaking
Concerned looks greet their latest triumphs

The old are still here
Though greatness bends with age
I still see the decades shared
The conversation comes easily
As we move together through familiar places

Young and old moving forward
Through the stream of memory and vision
The patterns and the shapes look familiar
Some are young and positive
Surging up mountains
Looking to make their mark

Lovers and loners rub shoulders
In this noisy place
But many are feeling older
Wishing they were younger
For the others that they love

Some have yet to find their shape
Still learning how to swim
Then there are the aristocrats in fine houses
Driving the more expensive cars
Too fast in crowded streets

There is faith here still
But also exotic choices from India
And harsher ones from Arabian sands
The mix could be overwhelming
For those who have no time for scripture

This place is crowded and always moving
This place is home and yet somehow foreign
Today I see Roman soldiers marching past Redcoats and Bankers
While Spitfires, fireworks, and party balloons fill the sky
And all the nations of the world
Are talking here at the same time
And not all in words, I understand