Photo of a street in Beijing.‘A Woodstock for China’ by Talbot Hook The Society October 1, 2022 Culture, Human Rights in China, Humor, Poetry 11 Comments . A Woodstock for China You sit within a public Chinese bus, And out the window: buildings, concrete, dust, Which all are perfect—life is simply thus. You stare with shining eyes, soft-spoken trust. A face so ruddy, beard and hair unkempt, The locals turn to stare—once, twice, again. Guitar appears, a voice without contempt, And forgotten hymns to ‘69 begin. The silence breaks, and Woodstock lives anew; Anthems to universal love take wing— An unasked psychedelic debut, While workers stare through the haze of Beijing. The brakes engage. The song breaks off, replaced By silence—your communal dream misplaced. . . Talbot Hook is a PhD student and occasional writer currently living in Connecticut. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Trending now: 11 Responses Clive Boddy October 1, 2022 A poem with many qualities, being subtle, evocative, poignant and telling. Reply Talbot Hook October 1, 2022 Thanks for your kind words, Clive. Having witnessed this little episode first-hand (and having had it brew in my mind for over a decade), I too must have found something evocative about it! It does seem a bit sad to me, through whichever lens I look at it . . . . Reply Tonia Kalouria October 1, 2022 Peace and love… A lovely, sad anachronism. Reply Talbot Hook October 1, 2022 Appreciated, Tonia. I found the scene very powerful for its many juxtapositions. Reply Margaret Coats October 1, 2022 Talbot, this is a confusion story, but perhaps that’s how you mean it. Do the brakes engage and stop the bus? Does the song break off because of that? The fake universal Woodstock love ended very badly for many persons who suffered violence there, and for more who tuned out with drugs for the rest of lives shortened or broken by the experience and the fantasy. A “communal dream misplaced” at the end of a miserable era! Reply Talbot Hook October 1, 2022 Dear Margaret, I didn’t intend for the poem to be confusing — though perhaps a bit blurred and dreamlike. Ultimately, the engaging of the brakes broke off the song (though I cannot recall if this was traffic or at a bus-stop) and the “moment” was gone, as they say. If the poem is a bit unclear in its ending, it might just be a true reflection of the end of this hippie’s little Woodstock. It was as short-lived as it was powerfully odd. The “communal dream” didn’t turn out too well for many Chinese, either . . . . As always, thanks for your attention! I always appreciate your comments. Reply Margaret Coats October 1, 2022 Thanks for clarifying a little! You seem to be evoking the fairy-tale view of Woodstock, which does indeed have all the peace and love of the Chinese Communist regime. But you deserve credit for those last words. Whether it’s Woodstock music or Beijing air, it’s shared obscurity hiding what’s more important from the victims. I appreciate your listening! Reply Talbot Hook October 3, 2022 There’s certainly a parallelism there that I was wanting to explore, so I hope that the last lines carried that out adequately. Have a lovely day, Margaret! Paul Freeman October 2, 2022 A thought-provoking poem that deserves more than a single read. Thanks for the read, Talbot. Reply Talbot Hook October 3, 2022 And thanks for reading, Paul! I appreciate it, and hope it’s better upon a second browsing. Reply Patricia Redfern December 6, 2022 Talbot, be assured I got your but point. So did my grown daughter. You are one, creative and delightful poet, my man? contrast. Wow! The bleak deadness of Communist China against the freedom of Woodstock. Sure, there is an arrogance against Woodstock. Compared to today’ America? Looks so innocent! With rampant murder, Biden and his love lockdowns, pushing TG,etc. thank you, Talbit……~Patricia ~ These days communes would be verboten due to The”China Virus.” Censorship reigns today. The summer of love music was fabulous. When contrasted with today’s vulgar rap, in my opinion. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Clive Boddy October 1, 2022 A poem with many qualities, being subtle, evocative, poignant and telling. Reply
Talbot Hook October 1, 2022 Thanks for your kind words, Clive. Having witnessed this little episode first-hand (and having had it brew in my mind for over a decade), I too must have found something evocative about it! It does seem a bit sad to me, through whichever lens I look at it . . . . Reply
Talbot Hook October 1, 2022 Appreciated, Tonia. I found the scene very powerful for its many juxtapositions. Reply
Margaret Coats October 1, 2022 Talbot, this is a confusion story, but perhaps that’s how you mean it. Do the brakes engage and stop the bus? Does the song break off because of that? The fake universal Woodstock love ended very badly for many persons who suffered violence there, and for more who tuned out with drugs for the rest of lives shortened or broken by the experience and the fantasy. A “communal dream misplaced” at the end of a miserable era! Reply
Talbot Hook October 1, 2022 Dear Margaret, I didn’t intend for the poem to be confusing — though perhaps a bit blurred and dreamlike. Ultimately, the engaging of the brakes broke off the song (though I cannot recall if this was traffic or at a bus-stop) and the “moment” was gone, as they say. If the poem is a bit unclear in its ending, it might just be a true reflection of the end of this hippie’s little Woodstock. It was as short-lived as it was powerfully odd. The “communal dream” didn’t turn out too well for many Chinese, either . . . . As always, thanks for your attention! I always appreciate your comments. Reply
Margaret Coats October 1, 2022 Thanks for clarifying a little! You seem to be evoking the fairy-tale view of Woodstock, which does indeed have all the peace and love of the Chinese Communist regime. But you deserve credit for those last words. Whether it’s Woodstock music or Beijing air, it’s shared obscurity hiding what’s more important from the victims. I appreciate your listening! Reply
Talbot Hook October 3, 2022 There’s certainly a parallelism there that I was wanting to explore, so I hope that the last lines carried that out adequately. Have a lovely day, Margaret!
Paul Freeman October 2, 2022 A thought-provoking poem that deserves more than a single read. Thanks for the read, Talbot. Reply
Talbot Hook October 3, 2022 And thanks for reading, Paul! I appreciate it, and hope it’s better upon a second browsing. Reply
Patricia Redfern December 6, 2022 Talbot, be assured I got your but point. So did my grown daughter. You are one, creative and delightful poet, my man? contrast. Wow! The bleak deadness of Communist China against the freedom of Woodstock. Sure, there is an arrogance against Woodstock. Compared to today’ America? Looks so innocent! With rampant murder, Biden and his love lockdowns, pushing TG,etc. thank you, Talbit……~Patricia ~ These days communes would be verboten due to The”China Virus.” Censorship reigns today. The summer of love music was fabulous. When contrasted with today’s vulgar rap, in my opinion. Reply