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A Small Rat in Prison

for Little Xia

a small rat passes through the iron bars
paces back and forth on the window ledge
the peeling walls are watching him
the blood-filled mosquitoes are watching him
he even draws the moon from the sky, silver
shadow casts down
beauty, as if in flight

a very gentryman the rat tonight
doesn’t eat nor drink nor grind his teeth
as he stares with his sly bright eyes
strolling in the moonlight

5. 26. 1999

PEN more poems…

Liu Xiaobo as been declared winner of the Nobel Peace prize which immediately set off a war of words with China which has kept him in prison with small breaks for many years. His last crime was writing seven sentences the regime proclaimed to be criminal. Read the seven sentences here.

Reuters has a factbox of reactions from around the world.

www.shanghiist.com, an interesting set of young China watchers, has some acerbic comments.

Nobel Peace Prize, here.

Recommended readings, here.