China Poem by RIC BASTASA

i walked upon your
great wall,
saw you beautiful mountains
amazed by the
palaces, and garden of
sleeping willows
lotuses
blooming on the
ponds
handmade beauty
built for
the empress

i heard the stories
of murders too
of the past
poisoning and
betrayals

i ponder upon
the thought that
with power comes beauty
and behind all these
are
myriad deaths
castrations
bloody revolutions

indeed a very rich history
spoken of by old wise men
poets
and philosophers