death by suffocation

i
a heart is only
a heart when it
is beating
free

ii
a heart locked
in a cage is
a congestive
heart failure

iii
china leapt upward
from an antique
farmland to a
dominating economy
when its leader
freed the hearts
of its peasants
to work
for themselves

iv
the heart of the east
married the heart of the west
most perfectly
in hong kong––

a treasure of
law, civilization &
harmony

v
its leader is
betraying the hearts
of the people
as blustering amerika stands
aside––

democracy is
wheezing

vi
the people of hong kong
were bartered away
as slaves
to the chinese powers––

now––
their voices to be silenced––
their hearts
chained––

they arise together
as a furious
dragon