A huge thanks to the many people who submitted Brexit-themed Valentine’s poems. After trawling through the many verses on our social media, sent to our inbox or posted below the line, we’ve picked two winners.
The first is this snappy little ditty penned by Yvonne Griffiths.
I love EU
The things you do
To keep us safe and healthy.
I love your regulations too
They protect and make us wealthy.
I love EU for binding us
Together as a group
So wars can’t come between us
Or dictators stage a coup.
And the other, very different, entry is this thoughtful eight-stanza offering submitted by an anonymous poet. Enjoy! And here’s hoping a People’s Vote means this isn’t the last Valentine’s Day we have in the EU.
The English like their verse satirical
And tend to dislike waxing lyrical.
However, as I soon may lose
The chance I still have now to use
The present tense, I must convey
My love for Europe while I can still say
“I love” and not “I used to love”…
For, once an object of ones love is gone,
Whether divorced or gone ‘above’,
Declarations of love are hope forlorn.
So here it is: Why do I send
A Valentine to my dear friend
The European Union? Because
Our life compared to what it was
Before It started up has been
So much better, as can be seen
If you reflect on centuries of war
Which wrecked the lives
Of parents, grandparents and more;
The scourge of millions of wives
And mothers who lost the men
They loved….
And what else then?
I love the fact that Europe strives
So hard together to protect
Our scarce resources, and respect
The environment and future lives.
I love the fact that Europe shares
Its scientific work. Together
We can faster find cures for our fears,
Be they disease, or dangerous weather…
I love the fact that Europe speaks
Explicitly about the values that it seeks
To defend: Human rights, democracy,
Free speech, equal opportunity…
I love the marvellous ease with which I
And my children can get a train
And travel unfettered to France or Spain,
To Poland or Croatia. Why?
For holidays most can afford,
And even for work….
You would be bored
If I were to list the reasons why
I love Europe, in their entirety.
I first loved Europe with my reason, true.
But when a friend is clearly good for you,
It does not take much on your part
To end up loving with your heart.
Thank you Mr Words Worth. A hard message clothed in sweet words. I cannot think that the worst will befall us, that the clock will be turned back seventy years and more and people encouraged to turn their backs on partners. My father’s generation certainly didn’t risk (and give) their lives to see the conditions for nationalism and fascism re-established. Your quiet words make such a contrast with the daily hatred press.