A Poetry Tasting: Advice for an American Going to England for the First Time

I'm so happy to share with you a long overdue poem for our poetry series with Kate! This poem captures the odd mix of happiness and sadness that make up nostalgia. Have you ever felt that after discovering and falling in love with a new place?

Advice for an American Going to England for the First Time
Words by Kate Lindblom

If you ever travel to England, 

don't forget to pack 

a pair of long, wooly socks 

and an overcoat 

for the July weather.

Bring a sturdy coin purse 

for all the pounds and the pence 

you'll constantly examine and trade.

Don't worry. They will have things 

like cats and postage stamps 

and small rocks and windows 

and drops of dew like you're used to. 

Your homesickness will be brief.

You won't need a translator 

to understand British words and phrases 

such as “bits and bobs” or “popping in.” 

But do understand that “party favors” 

can mean more 

than colorful streamers and paper hats.

If you see citizens enjoying picnics in a graveyard 

with their blue bicycles propped against headstones, 

Do not be alarmed. 

Also, try not to feel uneasy 

eating some grapes 

or buying a trinket 

or simply sitting down 

in a building older than your known family tree. 

Remember: it's not a museum, it's for living. 

And it doesn't need a power washing.

Try the leek soup, 

try the blood pudding, 

try the crumpets, 

try the grilled tomatoes. 

You'll find them 

delightful 

abhorrent 

underwhelming 

and strange, 

perhaps in that order.

Ponder over 

the British love affair with 

red and black currants 

and marmite 

and crisps that taste like prawns 

and not ketchup.

You should just start loving and expecting 

hot beverages like you might a pleasant breeze. 

Embrace coffee and tea and milk and cubes of sugar 

as you already do biscuits.

Enjoy hard cider, 

its sweetness and tartness and sparkle combined. 

Enjoy the Devonshire cream 

which you never knew existed 

and which will be hard to find 

back in the States.

Go ahead and take 42 rolls of film. 

You'll want to remember 

that amount of snails in one place 

and the way the sunlight shone on the grass 

that one afternoon. 

You'll need to show you were at King's Chapel, 

Cambridge 

and Windsor Castle too, 

whether the queen was or not. 

You'll try to capture the feelings you'll have: 

awe, confusion, delight, camaraderie, 

true and constant. 

You will not fully succeed 

but the images will help combat the sadness 

after you have left.