Whither Hong Kong? / September 2014 (Issue 25)


To the Shadow-Millions

by Kit Fan

In response to the People’s Republic of China State Council’s White Paper, “The Practice of the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ Policy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” (published in June 2014)

This is what is going to happen.
On a wind-changing, moonless night the plugs
are pulled and the Earth-proud skyline
drops.

No more Pei's cleaver, Foster's cannons,
the Divine Turtle out at sea.
Gone are the odd familiar light-shapes
once defining a problem-home.

In pitch-dark occupancy
the shadow-millions hum soundlessly
in black unison, black as hair as
pupils as everything else in the dark with no eyes.

What do the shadows remember?
Not the fireworks.
Not the laser beams.
Not the moth in fire chasing its own shadow.

The candles, the candles, they say,
thousands of them, lit this one June day.
But of course no questions asked.
And no eyes answer.
 
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