American Girl: A Canadian View
George Jonas
It is reassuring
To spend part of a night
With an American girl.
Chances are she will not resemble
The leaders of her nation
In speech, figure or stance:
If she has imperialistic designs
She may draw you without a struggle
Into her sphere of influence.
Then you’ll find her battledress
Fit for her private battles,
See not her battleships but hear her battlecries,
And melt (perhaps with a wistful smile)
Before the native napalm of her eyes.
But she’ll seem to be prepared
To give as well as to accept
Some foreign aid
And by midnight or so
While the fires of her manifest destiny smoulder
You’ll be all ready to slip across
The world’s longest undefended border.
Jonas, George. “American Girl: A Canadian View.” The New Romans: Candid Canadian Opinions of the U.S. Ed. Al Purdy. Edmonton: Hurtig, 1968. 53.