White Chrysanthemums — No longer flavour of the month
em = By Willy Bach
Human Rights
In polystyrene
As we walked
In sombre file
Remember
Savage slaughter
Tienanmen
Just two years ago
And no-one wants
To know
Broken bodies
That don't count
On bottom lines
Human Rights
In polystyrene
As we placed
Joss sticks
At her feet
A gesture
Just as hollow
As our votes
For leaders
Who feign care
Supporting butchers
Everywhere
Doing business
With the bleeders
Of the sombre
Human Rights
In polystyrene
Just as fragile
As her statue
Ringed with candles
As they sang
For their exploiters
Comrades rot in jail
While we clear away
The flowers
The billions
Cannot vote
My own is worth
A second
On their clock
1st June 1991. Commemorating the second anniversary of the Tienanmen massacre, attending the demonstration by Chinese students and hearing a particularly nauseating speech from an ALP member of the Queensland parliament.