Hail our bridge
the tallest bridge in the whole world.
Made of white marzipan
—beautiful, mouth-watering marzipan—
it stands in the waters of the river
on giant stilts of fruit and cake.
On this bridge each night
grey men in suits of wasted lives
scurry for the trains to suburban hell.
A painter in a bowler hat
sat on its stairs of fruit and cake
and began to paint pictures
of little swallows and bulldogs
on the walls of Cardboard City.
A woman sitting on the floor
offered him some Boursin cheese
and a glass of French wine.
Dear Lord! French cheese and wine!
Surely, she mistook him for a tramp
and not the world's greatest artist.
He was aghast!
In a spree of righteous anger
he murdered all the swallows
and fed them to the smiling bulldogs.
A plain-clothes policeman
walked out through a painted door
from underneath the greatest bridge
and seeing such a scene of carnage
he took his pistol from its holster
and shot the vagrant dead.
A missionary hearing the gunshot came running to the murder scene.
He saw a woman besides herself with grief
weeping over the body of her dying brother.
He assumed she was drunk on French wine
—you can never trust the morals of the French—
and she had stabbed that man to death.
But he also knew this was not his fight.
Things became clear that night and the young TV reporter knew at last, he had found enlightenment.
He looked with pride at the bridge
made of marzipan and cake
—the best and whitest marzipan
except perhaps in Arizona—
and took a giant bite from its leg.
The leg wobbled back and forth
and then collapsed into the river.
It was reported on TV that night,
a rotund man cycling on the water
was crashed then drowned.
'London Bridge is falling down
falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down
my fair lady'
Patriots asked if they could scatter
the obese man's ashes on the river
but the judge refused to give permission.
In a ceremony of pomp and circumstance
they were scattered in the Channel
and they drifted all the way to France.
'What a great story'
—thought the young reporter with much pride—
'This must be the greatest story in the world'.
A few words about the poem…
Political Poems: Unveiling the Surreal Irony of "Little England"
In the realm of political poems, where satire and surrealism intertwine, the poem "The Tallest Bridge in the World" offers a compelling critique of the ultra-nationalist ideology often encapsulated in the notion of "Little England." The poem's vivid and absurd imagery serves to highlight the irrational pride and contradictory values held by those who fervently believe in their nation's unparalleled superiority.
The poem opens with the grandiose declaration of possessing the tallest bridge in the world, made entirely of white marzipan and standing on stilts of fruit and cake. This fantastical construction sets the stage for the surreal narrative that unfolds. The marzipan bridge, beautiful and mouth-watering, symbolizes the fragile and artificial nature of the nationalistic pride it represents.
As night falls, grey-suited men with wasted lives scurry across the bridge, a metaphor for the monotonous and unfulfilled existence that nationalism often perpetuates. The presence of a painter in a bowler hat, who begins to paint swallows and bulldogs on the walls of Cardboard City, introduces a layer of irony. The artist's work is interrupted by a woman offering French cheese and wine, a gesture that leads to a violent and irrational reaction. This encounter reflects the xenophobic tendencies that underlie the ultra-nationalist mindset, where foreign influence is met with hostility.
The poem's absurdity reaches a peak with the appearance of a plain-clothes policeman who misinterprets the scene and shoots the painter. A missionary's arrival and subsequent misjudgement of the situation further underscore the poem's critique of the misguided morality that often accompanies nationalist fervour. The young TV reporter's enlightenment, achieved through the chaos and carnage, satirizes the superficial and sensationalist nature of media coverage.
The poem concludes with the collapse of the marzipan bridge, a literal and metaphorical representation of the inevitable downfall of such hollow pride. The reporter's pride in reporting the bridge's collapse as the "greatest story in the world" mirrors the misplaced pride of the nationalists. The scattering of the obese man's ashes, a satirical reference to a well-known politician, which drift to France, serves as a final ironic twist, highlighting the futility and absurdity of the ultra-nationalist worldview.
In examining "The Tallest Bridge in the World," it becomes evident that political poems like this use surrealism and irony to deconstruct the illogical and often hypocritical nature of ultra-nationalist beliefs. The poem's imagery and narrative invite readers to question the validity of such pride and to reflect on the broader implications of a worldview that elevates one's nation above all others without rational justification.
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