Tiananmen, 1988
Tiananmen. No, not THAT Tiananmen--
The year before "Tiananmen,"
When China was just Red,
not Maraschino Cherry
floating in a baijiu martini.
Shaoyuan dormitory cafeteria
Served fried dough and rice porridge and weak tea.
Coffee was something we bought at the Friendship Store.
We sold our Foreign Exchange Certificates
On the black market near the Peking Hotel.
In Spring, as if it were a natural right,
Beijing University students wrote out their criticisms
In large Chinese characters on poster board.
They had no idea then that a year later
Some would be gunned down by their own countrymen.
- December 2018
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