Unsmeared View Poem by john tiong chunghoo

the child sees the world
as it is, its charm and loveliness

the mountain for its glory
the birds for their brevity of songs
and woman for her propensity
to shower him warm kisses

a child is a bouquet or rose
that opens to us an unsmeared view of love
till racism and religious bigotry dislodge
him from that sacred sanctuary
to fall into a sea of distorted values
where he shuttles helplessly between love and hate

ask hitler, saddam hussein, who left nothing
but shredded, withered and torn roses
flying into our path