The Chinese people have stood up!

Our rhetoric professor challenged us to write a William Blake-esque poem about social ills. It's not the best, and the rhyme breaks down in parts, but here's mine.

Humor me - read it out loud.

The Chinese People Have Stood Up!

The Chinese people have stood up! [1]

Olympic and Expo fever erupts.

Tiananmen wants your land and your house,

All for national interest, you better move out.

The lonely woman living on a slope,

Wringing her hands, fingering her rope,

As she screams, Wo bu mai! [2]

Alone in her fight against Chai, [3]

And the claws of the unforgiving cranes,

And the shattering of her window panes.

But still she sits, revered and reviled,

Standing against government excess,

Standing in way of China's progress.

Finally, a Chinese person has stood up!

(Photo cred: Taipei Times "Woman Refuses to Give Up Home")

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[1] The Chinese are fiercely proud of the Olympics because it shows that the Chinese are now strong and prosperous. This line was the common cry on the streets during Olympics; it also echoes the Chinese national anthem.

[2] I won't sell!

[3] Beijing is plastered with Chai (To demolish) signs. The people are pressured to move. The government is tearing down centuries-old neighborhoods for shiny shopping mall complexes.