This comes from a book which I originally found at my work place library in Evanston. It has the most wonderful poems about the birth of her baby - and I was pregnant at the time, so made a copy and kept it and sent it to each new baby I encounter. But yesterday I found her entire book is on the internet. I will see if I can give you the reference.It is the story of an American who married an aristocratic Englishman, he is killed in the first world war, she has a baby after he has dies but feels she has to bring him up in England because he is the heir to the property.And then later when he is grown and about to go off to the second world war, she is very loathe to let him go.

http://www.eliteskills.com/analysis_poetry/The_White_Cliffs_by_Alice_Duer_Miller_analysis.php

When the sun shines on England, it atones
For low-hung leaden skies, and rain and dim
Mist, fogs that paint the verdure on her stones
And fill her gentle rivers to the brim.

When the sun shines on England, shafts of light
Fall on far towers and hills and dark old trees
And hedge bound meadows of a green as bright
As bright as is the blue of tropic seas.

When the sun shines, it is as if the face
Of some proud man relaxed his haughty stare
And smiles upon us with a sudden grace,
Flattering because its coming is so rare.

*****

What a voice he had - gentle, profound,
Clear masculine. I melted at the sound.

Oh, those English voices, are there any words
Those tones to tell, those cadences to teach.
As songs of thrushes is to other birds,
So English voices are to other speech;

Those pure round “o”s those lovely liquid “l”s
Ring in the ear like sounds of Sabbath bells.

Yet I have loathed those voices when the sense
Of what they said seemed to insolence
As if the dominance of the whole nation
Lay in that clear correct enunciation.

And presently she says, as they
Sooner or later always say:
“You're an American,  Miss Dunne?
Really you do not speak like one.”

She seemed to think she’d said a thing
Both courteous and flattering.
I answered, through my wrists were weak
With anger; “Not at all, I speak,
At least I’ve always thought this true,
As educated people do
In any country - even mine.”
“Really,” I saw her head incline.

I saw her ready to assert
Americans are easily hurt.