Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Poetry 2017 | Page 61

From Foes to Friends
The Independent Schools Foundation Academy, Chung, King To Julian - 10
At the mouth of Yangtze,
Where East meets West.
Upon the turn of the century,
The Paris of the East lay
In stress.
The world was pallid, without color.
Chinese and Westerners in hateful terms.
Flood of abhorrence engulfed the city,
Destroying seeds of friendship, love, and hope.
The mess of conflicts returned.
Money, land, capitalism.
To China, they came for.
Opium traffickers, ruthless colonists, slave owners.
These were their hidden identities.
Sadly this way, Westerners pictured in Chinese lore.
Rebel, steal, kowtow.
They knew nothing better.
Business destroyers, pigtailed servants, rotten scoundrels.
They were born to be.
Abyss widened, between Chinese and Westerners.
Amidst a bombing raid,
A Shanghainese lady saved a French fellow.
In the dun chaotic ages,
Two tints of color emerged.
Becoming friends are two foes.
Like a bolt out of the blue, the lady started admiring Western culture.
Scrumptious high tea at Peace Hotel, a taste of glamor and pizzazz.
Sensational motion pictures at Astor House, a glimpse into modern technologies.
Occasions to meet were few and far between.
Westerners traversed concession territories, Chinese couldn’t whereas.