Americanisation Poem by Gilbert Keith Chesterton

Americanisation

Rating: 2.9


Britannia needs no Boulevards,
No spaces wide and gay:
Her march was through the crooked streets
Along the narrow way.
Nor looks she where, New York's seduction,
The Broadway leadeth to destruction.

Britannia needs no Cafes:
If Coffee needs must be,
Its place should be the Coffee-house
Where Johnson growled for Tea;
But who can hear that human mountain
Growl for an ice-cream soda-fountain?

She needs no Russian Theatrey
Mere Father strangles Mother,
In scenes where all the characters
And colours kill each other--
Her boast is freedom had by halves,
And Britons never shall be Slavs.

But if not hers the Dance of Death,
Great Dostoievsky's dance,
And if the things most finely French
Are better done in France--
Might not Americanisation
Be best applied to its own nation?

Ere every shop shall be a store
And every Trade a Trust . . .
Lo, many men in many lands
Know when their cause is just.
There will be quite a large attendance
When we Declare our Independence.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Rajnish Manga 06 August 2019

Might not Americanisation Be best applied to its own nation? Quite a logical approach to a nation's unique identity. It is not necessary to adopt names, habits or values which were integral to the colonial masters of the past. Thanks a lot PH for publishing the poem.

0 0 Reply
Chris Mendros 21 March 2007

i second the notion, as a proud yank.

1 1 Reply
Edward Evans 29 December 2006

truly great poem, speaking as a patriotic brit

1 1 Reply
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