I am Great Britain
Amelie Edmondson
I am Great Britain.
my empire was ‘great’.
I am great.
Not for the reasons I believe.
I am the smell of salt and vinegar at the chippy,
I am the corner shop on your way to school,
I am curry in a paper box,
I am the Chinese place down the road,
I am beans on toast on a rainy day,
I am the cans in a bag your mate got from the offy,
I am the afternoon tea with cream first, not jam.
I am the parachute in year six PE,
I am chips in a takeaway bag in the canteen,
I am blowing your money on Centerparks,
I am riding you bike to school in the rain,
I am watching The Snowman on Christmas Eve,
I am comparing the weight of your bag with your mate.
I am rain.
Your country’s treasures lie in my museums,
And you won’t get them back.
I am why your money has my monarch’s face on it,
I am why your country speaks English,
I am why you have independence days.
Some miss my empire.
Some are proud to be my people.
Some are not proud.
Some do not wish to be my people.
Some say I am colonialist,
sexist,
racist,
homophobic,
transphobic,
oligarchal,
Stuck up Tory tyrants.
Margaret Thatcher?
Ding Dong the witch is dead!
Playboy, man child, stupid eejit,
Boris.
My parliament comes fresh from Eton,
only the highest quality pricks for politics.
Some are ashamed to call themselves my people.
I am black
white
asian
arab
conservative
liberal
royalist
anarchist
straight
gay
transgender
posh
chavvy
northern
southern
midland
english
scottish
welsh
northern irish
caribbean
indian
pakistani
african
christian
muslim
jewish
hindu
sikhi
buddhist
pagan
athiest
old
young
tired
new
stuck in my ways
progressive
capitalist
socialist
bright
rainy
dark
happy
sad
excited
cynical
I am Great Britain.