Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Poetry 2019 | Page 57

Zheng He’s new tales
Victoria Shanghai Academy, Li, Hayden - 9
Early 1400s people sailed the sea hoping for leisure
Stealing away with lots of treasure
China wanted wealth
And called Zheng to stealth
The Admiral was leading a hundred ships
Gifting minerals and gifts
Answering questions who seated at the throne
Mapping the unknown
Fighting battles tough and strong
Suffering illnesses more and more
Occasionally returning back from the expeditions
Only to plan for more sailing missions
Furious kings and tribes
Rides to escape they tried
A disastrous and bloody war
Stopping the roaring of the shore
Starving and cold on the weakening boat
Zhang aimed at Africa and Arabia as a goal
The Oceans took him to his destinations
All from his brave determination
His crews and voyages under his control
Three hundred seventeen fleets in a row
Finest of China’s porcelain, gold, and silk
In return with exotic gifts
Giraffes, Zebras Africans gave
Zheng succeeded in friendship made
Never before the map expanded
International Trade embarked
Zhang became the master of Seas
For more adventures to be seen
History was written as never before
Zhang bought China to the world map like never before