Former poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, has penned a new poem entitled ‘STATE/BANQUET’ in response to U.S. President, Donald Trump’s recent UK state visit; the first U.S. President to receive a second state visit. Duffy’s latest work contrasts the formal ceremonial performance of the banquet held upon his arrival that has been flooding the news with the devastating ruins left by war in conflicts around the world including Ukraine and Gaza, that so many of us have sadly become all too familiar with seeing online.
Trump and his wife, Melania, arrived in Windsor on Wednesday (17th) morning to be met by the Prince and Princess of Wales, before being escorted to the king and queen. A state banquet for 160 guests was held at Windsor Castle’s St George’s Hall that evening.
During the presidential campaign for his second term, Trump made promises of peace in Ukraine from day one in office, however, the war waged by Russia is still ongoing.
What’s more, according to the U.S. Department of State’s own website, since taking office, The Trump Administration has approved nearly $12 billion in major foreign military sales to Israel.
In a piece by The Guardian, using figures from a classified Israeli military intelligence database, it was revealed that five out of six Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since the attack on 7th October by Hamas have been civilians.
Carol Ann Duffy’s poem reacts to the stark contrast between the visit and the ongoing war, inviting readers to reflect on the plight of those living in conflict zones.
“Let the trumpets sound on the bombsite,” Duffy writes.
STATE/BANQUET – CAROL ANN DUFFY
How it glitters and shines, The Grand Service,
among the rocks and the rubble,
laid out on a breezeblock horseshoe table,
six crystal glasses per setting.
It took eight servants three weeks to polish –
silver coated in a thin layer of gold –
even the concrete dust in the air seems glamourised
and the ruins are decked in the uplifting flags of
democracy.
To start, fillet of Dover sole filled with salmon mousse,
served on a bed of leeks with white wine sauce.
Poached Sandringham venison with truffles to follow,
then Key Lime Pie, and among the wines,
Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, 1990.
Yum-yum. Let the trumpets sound on the bombsite
as the great and the good pick their way through,
and a famished child peers through a bullet-hole in a wall.
