Chinese Characters Poem by john tiong chunghoo

pictures that have morphed
from realist, abstract, surreal,
impressionistic, futuristic, modernist
to cubist flair even before the West
fell head over heel over these

the pictures infused with the strokes
of the heart and mind twirl and swirl
to the wide ranging ideas of beauty,
and morality that pervade every age

the brushes of all sizes fill out
the space to give it the shades of
emotions that flow like wind,
charge up the nerves like lightning,
strike the ears like thunder and
fall like rain

they are still waiting for the best brains
to effect another breakthrough in art -
the thousands of Chinese characters

they occupy the archives of art and
literature like the Chin Emperor's
terra cotta and the great wall -
always fluid, meandering through
the dynamics of the mind even after
ten thousand years