Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Poetry 2019 | Page 96

New Tales of the Ming Treasure Voyages
Shanghai Singapore Internatinal School, Man, Tsz Yan - 13
15th century is the time to set sail,
Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus all left a trail,
Seeking wide, on the tides, for the treasures they will find ,
Bringing glory to what we call today as mankind,
But none of them could foresee,
The capability of Zheng He.
In the Fourteen hundred came along a young Muslim man,
Who was taken away from his very own clan,
Years of his life that he’ll never forget,
Of being somebody else’s pet,
After that he befriended a prince called Zudi,
Whom gave that man a name called “Zheng He”.
Zudi ordered Zheng He a quest,
A quest to voyage and to never rest,
To embrace the waves,
Sail underneath caves,
Since Zheng He was seen to be very brave,
Zudi’s plan was seen to be unreal,
As for he wishes to give and not steal.
Ships larger than any other made,
Packed with china vase, gold, iron, and jade,
This is to give as presents or to trade,
And not start a fight or to draw out a blade,
Weaponry, guns, bombs are all installed,
NOTHING will stop them throughout the long haul,
Even when they are about to hit a curveball.
Seven voyages by the Ming Treasure Fleet,
Strong enough that even nasty pirates couldn’t beat,
Making them call mama and yell “RETREAT”,
At this rate no task for Zheng He was left incomplete.
Zheng He searched far and wide,
With his fellow captains and sailors by his side,
They went from China to India and also Africa,
But they weren’t able to travel to America,
Bringing back prestige, respect, and goods from their adventures,
A zoos worth of zebras, rhinos, giraffes and such creatures.
The voyagers won themselves a place in history,
But their adventures are sometimes kept in a mystery,
Everyone who sees them would want to flee,
And that is why China truly ruled the sea.