‘A Reflection on Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement’ by Damian Robin

Though tear gas spiraled through receding light
and wrung out tears and mangled up clear sight;
and though the bitter gas was spiked with hate,
the thin-clad crowd did not retaliate.

The death of freedom’s wrapped in “legal” care
not the “Open fire!” on Tiananmen Square
where peaceful rules faced tanks in single file –
the communist regime has changed its style.

As this is not the mainland years ago
and news teams round the world appear to know,
the massacre has moved to closed-off scenes,
no daytime deaths will viral up our screens.

State slander and coercion choke Hong Kong
with hands as dark as used on Falun Gong.

Robin, Damian is lives in England. He works for an international newspaper and a bilingual magazine. He lives with his wife and three children.