Protests at Chinese University of Hong Kong, on Nov. 29, 2022‘China’s Silent Screams’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society December 6, 2022 Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry 25 Comments . China’s Silent Screams The CCP will never hear the screams Of those who strive to find their way back home. It steals all hope and freedom—snatches dreams From lost souls tossed where wolves and nightmares roam. The CCP will never hear the howls Of folk whose flesh is melting from their bones— Those burned alive as barbarism prowls Through dead-end streets in city lockdown zones. The CCP will never hear the pleas Of shackled spirits shrieking for release. No greedy, godless system ever frees Imprisoned kin—their sin will never cease. As long as fat cats feed at China’s trough Despair will rend the air while despots scoff. . . Susan Jarvis Bryant has poetry published on Lighten Up Online, Snakeskin, Light, Sparks of Calliope, and Expansive Poetry Online. She also has poetry published in TRINACRIA, Beth Houston’s Extreme Formal Poems anthology, and in Openings (anthologies of poems by Open University Poets in the UK). Susan is the winner of the 2020 International SCP Poetry Competition, and has been nominated for the 2022 Pushcart Prize. 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. CODEC Stories: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) 25 Responses Mike Bryant December 6, 2022 The Chinese people are rising against the tyranny. I sent these two links to you Susan, and you felt the same outrage as I did. The first link is about Chinese people who were kept from going home. Because of the lockdowns, the Chinese government simply pushed a button and everyone in the city had their Phone Covid Passport invalidated which prevented all travel. Many of them are walking for 45 days through snow to return home. The second link is about those who died in their high rise apartments because they were locked down. The mainstream media coverage is sparse and contains lame excuses manufactured by the CCP, to absolutely no one’s surprise. We cannot allow these technocrats to take our freedom. Our only weapon is our freedom of speech that is under intense attack. https://canadafreepress.com/article/chinese-government-is-turning-the-qr-code-covid-passport-into-a-modern-electronic-tagging-to-prevent-residents-from-going-outside https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2022/11/26/deadly-high-rise-fire-in-china-leads-to-riots-over-zero-covid-lockdowns-n513576 Reply C.B Anderson December 6, 2022 Yeah, Mike, and it seems like the US of A, aside from a few places such as Florida and Texas, is becoming the new China. God help us! Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant December 6, 2022 Thank you, Mike… if we don’t speak up, this is where we’re heading… I’m sorry to say, I think we’re well on the way already. Reply John Creekmore December 6, 2022 Well said. And even now, China is eyeing Taiwan like a hungry wolf hovering near its prey. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant December 6, 2022 Thank you, John. We are living in scary times… I can feel that wolf bristling. It saddens me that so many are ignoring it. Reply Cynthia Erlandson December 6, 2022 “From lost souls tossed where wolves and nightmares roam.” Great poetic image. Another beautifully-woven poem about a horrifying situation. Thank you, Susan. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant December 7, 2022 Thank you very much, Cythia. The situation is indeed horrifying. Ever the optimist, I’m hoping if the MSM isn’t covering these stories… a little bit of poetry may go a long way. 🙂 Reply Joshua C. Frank December 6, 2022 Another great one, Susan! The title reminds me of the anti-abortion documentary “Silent Scream,” showing another kind “Of folk whose flesh is melting from their bones—/Those burned alive as barbarism prowls.” The analogy brings home just how horrible the CCP really is. The last two lines really make the point of it all; we’re at China’s mercy as long as we keep buying their stuff, we’ll keep buying their stuff as long as it’s cheaper, and it’ll be cheaper as long as they make it in Dickensian sweatshops. If they loosened their grip, they’d lose power over countries like ours. But, more than being attacked by China, I fear our country turning into China, complete with digital surveillance and social credit ratings. (For an idea of what that might be like, read Liu Xiaodan’s novella “For Whom the Bell Curve Tolls.” She’s from China, so she knew her subject matter!) That’s why we all have to get our poems out there as far and wide as possible while we still can; “The night cometh, when no man can work.” (John 9:4). Keep up the good work! Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant December 7, 2022 Josh, I haven’t heard of the anti-abortion documentary “Silent Scream” and I’m glad you’ve mentioned it. The more light there is shone on the evils of the day, the more chances we have of preventing them. Thank you for your astute comment. It highlights today’s problems but also points us in the right direction if we’re feeling a sense of despair. I appreciate that. Reply Joseph S. Salemi December 6, 2022 What sickens me is the way in which all of our Mainstream Media whores refuse to mention, much less discuss, any of the murderous atrocities going on in Communist China. And as long as our fake, fraudulently elected Resident in the White House and his scumbag son hold the reins of power, Mainstream Media will continue to pretend that nothing at all is happening in China. Just like they pretend that the Wuhan Flu’s origin is “unknown.” Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant December 7, 2022 Joe, sadly it’s a case of following the money… I believe the Western world is owned by our overlords and cozying up to China is part of the deal. Reply Margaret Coats December 7, 2022 It’s good to take notice, Susan, and to repeat “CCP will never hear.” Let’s just hope readers understand that CCP means Chinese Communist Party. Most current demonstrators in China have no idea the Party was on the brink of being overthrown at Tiananmen Square in 1989. Those in the square did not understand their power. Once again, the people are making demands against the powerful. It is heartening to hear Tiananmen survivors support their country from afar, but even their present re-appearance shows once again that the Party, deaf to the people, is the organized force in China. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant December 7, 2022 Margaret, thank you! I had no idea until reading your comment that the Party was on the brink of being overthrown at Tiananmen Square in 1989. This certainly gives hope to those who feel all is lost in this country. If only the majority would stand up and speak out before it’s too late. The number of voices calling atrocities out could well make the difference needed. China will be us sooner than we imagine if we don’t. Reply Joshua C. Frank December 7, 2022 I think the fact that the majority won’t speak up is symptomatic of the fact that it’s already too late. Given all the errors our culture has accepted, how can it say no to the next one, when doing so would force people to question a lot of things they already hold dear. Not that long ago, no American would have put up with all this. I’ve heard that the “Intolerable Acts” that set off the American Revolution amounted to a 1-2% tax. The problem isn’t China’s strength as much as it is our weakness. Susan Jarvis Bryant December 8, 2022 Joshua, I am inclined to agree with you, but I believe there is still that little seed of hope in the darkness waiting for the light to shine on it. Margaret’s Tiananmen Square comment gives me hope. Those who know the Truth may never know the power they have unless they push back… unless they try to bring Truth to light by not kowtowing to those who lie, gag us, lock us down, pump us with poison, and steal our children’s inheritance. Speaking the Truth is the first step to freedom. Josh, let’s carry on doing it through poetry! Margaret Coats December 7, 2022 Have Mike find for you a TV documentary interviewing all the Tiananmen students and other leaders who escaped China. It may be a 2-hour production, and I’m sorry I don’t remember more information about it. The square was jampacked because people from all over China had heard about the protest. Many came to Beijing by train to join it. The first army units sent in by the government went over to the demonstrators. That meant the demonstrators had guns and trained military on their side. With hindsight, the leaders now realize they could have and should have taken over TV and radio stations. The Party panicked, and sent for troops from the farthest reaches of the country, probably including some who could not speak standard Chinese. These troops were not sent in right away, but kept in fenced compounds to prevent their having any contact with Beijing people. They were told the country was at war with foreign infiltrators, whom they would need to destroy in the city. Meanwhile, students in the square received information about Party plans, and as their last democratic act voted to abandon the square. This reduced the numbers present in the square when soldiers arrived, but also meant that supporters who had come from outside Beijing, with nowhere to run or hide, were the principal targets of the attack. Had the leaders instead issued a rallying call, there might have been a pitched battle in the square, maybe even bloodier than the massacre, lasting longer and perhaps changing history for China and the world. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant December 8, 2022 Margaret, thank you very much for this. It sounds like a must-see documentary. I’ve already got my ace researcher researching! Damian Robin December 7, 2022 Brilliant, Susan. It’s usually thought that the tyrannical power-brokers make the truth speakers and innocent unheard, unseen and untouchable (but not unknown) by their violent repression and clever subterfuge. However, you say the truth here by showing that the repressers become insensitive. They don’t hear what’s going on, not just by their negative force. They lose the ability to perceive the human suffering. They lose their senses. They succumb to madness. “CCP will never hear”. How can ‘it’/‘they’ continue doing what they are doing without anesthetizing themselves — without becoming inhuman, without becoming and propagating evil ? (This doesn’t really need to be a question.) Truth said here in your poem and truth said strong and with intelligent beauty. Well said. Well done. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant December 7, 2022 Damian, thank you very much for your perspicacious comment. I especially appreciate you pointing out that “… repressors become insensitive. They don’t hear what’s going on”… that is because Communism is devoid of a soul. It is a godless religion that deals in the mind and the manipulation of it. When sinful man plays God, the results can be nothing but the soulless degradation of humanity by those who seek the power of control over those they reduce to slaves to their evil cause. A religion like that never hears the screams or feels the suffering of others. Globalism is the new name for Communism. Reply Brian Yapko December 7, 2022 Susan, this is another excellent poem of adrenaline and angst, crafted out of rage and full of observation and insight we would all do well to heed. I especially love the closing line, “Despair will rend the air while despots scoff.” China is infuriating and it’s terrifying — a powder keg whose influence must be contained. Its big cities are especially disturbing because they are ultramodern and immensely intimidating on a non-human scale. China seems to care about power and materialism to the exclusion of all human and spiritual values. It could never achieve what it has without the abject subjugation of many of its people, like the Falun Gong and the Tibetans. But make no mistake — a huge number of people there in places like Shanghai and Beijing, really seem to dig the materialism and the power. China is a powder keg. How will it’s history play out? Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant December 8, 2022 Brian, you have relayed with clarity and foresight all that worries and angers me over China, and as you well know, just like you, I simply have to vent poetically. It’s a shame that the news Mike has given links to isn’t widespread and that many are oblivious to the fact that the dragon is breathing its fire on our doorstep… perhaps then, there would be more pushback… or not, as the case maybe. Nothing fails to surprise me these days. Brian, thank you for your perspicacity, your sanity, and your integrity. Reply Norma Pain December 7, 2022 Thank you for this shout-out poem Susan. The evil that is happening needs to be called out and you do it so well in your amazing poetry. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant December 8, 2022 Norma, I thoroughly appreciate your comment. It looks like there may well be a few more shout-out poems screaming from the pages of the SCP… everywhere I turn these days there seems to be something to grouse about… poetically, of course 😉 Reply space character December 12, 2022 Following the anti-lockdown protests, the Chinese government has eased covid-related travel restrictions. Our protective system are being drawn down. Covid testing facilities are being dismantled. There is no medicine in the pharmacy. Many of my co-workers are coughing and I can’t tell if I’m infected. Many elderly people and children may not survive this winter. China has a population of 1.4 billion. As long as there is a 2% mortality rate, it also means that 28 million people will die from Covid and secondary disasters caused by the run on the medical system. None of this would have happened as long as our hard-blocking system remained in place. But it doesn’t exist anymore. What is all this for? The so-called “freedom” from anti-lock down protesters and liberals? If you still have a soul–hope you have–I hope you will feel bad conscience about it. Reply Mike Bryant December 12, 2022 Are these murderers, our rulers, now perverting the medical systems of earth for mayhem, murder and profit? And must we now trust these tyrants who have killed hundreds of millions of innocent people world wide? What reason is now given for the wholesale slaughter of the elderly, the infants, the sick, and the bold? Where is Tank Man? Where are the Falun Gong? Where are the Uighurs? Where are all those who are “different” from the “state-approved” norm? When will YOU be the next target of this rampaging sameness? When you are, be assured that the enforcers have many ways of killing you, and many reasons to do it. Do I have a conscience? Yes… it is a pity that these murderers do not. Are you living on another planet, space creature? Reply Leave a Reply to Cynthia Erlandson Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Captcha loading...In order to pass the CAPTCHA please enable JavaScript. 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.
Mike Bryant December 6, 2022 The Chinese people are rising against the tyranny. I sent these two links to you Susan, and you felt the same outrage as I did. The first link is about Chinese people who were kept from going home. Because of the lockdowns, the Chinese government simply pushed a button and everyone in the city had their Phone Covid Passport invalidated which prevented all travel. Many of them are walking for 45 days through snow to return home. The second link is about those who died in their high rise apartments because they were locked down. The mainstream media coverage is sparse and contains lame excuses manufactured by the CCP, to absolutely no one’s surprise. We cannot allow these technocrats to take our freedom. Our only weapon is our freedom of speech that is under intense attack. https://canadafreepress.com/article/chinese-government-is-turning-the-qr-code-covid-passport-into-a-modern-electronic-tagging-to-prevent-residents-from-going-outside https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2022/11/26/deadly-high-rise-fire-in-china-leads-to-riots-over-zero-covid-lockdowns-n513576 Reply
C.B Anderson December 6, 2022 Yeah, Mike, and it seems like the US of A, aside from a few places such as Florida and Texas, is becoming the new China. God help us! Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant December 6, 2022 Thank you, Mike… if we don’t speak up, this is where we’re heading… I’m sorry to say, I think we’re well on the way already. Reply
John Creekmore December 6, 2022 Well said. And even now, China is eyeing Taiwan like a hungry wolf hovering near its prey. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant December 6, 2022 Thank you, John. We are living in scary times… I can feel that wolf bristling. It saddens me that so many are ignoring it. Reply
Cynthia Erlandson December 6, 2022 “From lost souls tossed where wolves and nightmares roam.” Great poetic image. Another beautifully-woven poem about a horrifying situation. Thank you, Susan. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant December 7, 2022 Thank you very much, Cythia. The situation is indeed horrifying. Ever the optimist, I’m hoping if the MSM isn’t covering these stories… a little bit of poetry may go a long way. 🙂 Reply
Joshua C. Frank December 6, 2022 Another great one, Susan! The title reminds me of the anti-abortion documentary “Silent Scream,” showing another kind “Of folk whose flesh is melting from their bones—/Those burned alive as barbarism prowls.” The analogy brings home just how horrible the CCP really is. The last two lines really make the point of it all; we’re at China’s mercy as long as we keep buying their stuff, we’ll keep buying their stuff as long as it’s cheaper, and it’ll be cheaper as long as they make it in Dickensian sweatshops. If they loosened their grip, they’d lose power over countries like ours. But, more than being attacked by China, I fear our country turning into China, complete with digital surveillance and social credit ratings. (For an idea of what that might be like, read Liu Xiaodan’s novella “For Whom the Bell Curve Tolls.” She’s from China, so she knew her subject matter!) That’s why we all have to get our poems out there as far and wide as possible while we still can; “The night cometh, when no man can work.” (John 9:4). Keep up the good work! Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant December 7, 2022 Josh, I haven’t heard of the anti-abortion documentary “Silent Scream” and I’m glad you’ve mentioned it. The more light there is shone on the evils of the day, the more chances we have of preventing them. Thank you for your astute comment. It highlights today’s problems but also points us in the right direction if we’re feeling a sense of despair. I appreciate that. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi December 6, 2022 What sickens me is the way in which all of our Mainstream Media whores refuse to mention, much less discuss, any of the murderous atrocities going on in Communist China. And as long as our fake, fraudulently elected Resident in the White House and his scumbag son hold the reins of power, Mainstream Media will continue to pretend that nothing at all is happening in China. Just like they pretend that the Wuhan Flu’s origin is “unknown.” Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant December 7, 2022 Joe, sadly it’s a case of following the money… I believe the Western world is owned by our overlords and cozying up to China is part of the deal. Reply
Margaret Coats December 7, 2022 It’s good to take notice, Susan, and to repeat “CCP will never hear.” Let’s just hope readers understand that CCP means Chinese Communist Party. Most current demonstrators in China have no idea the Party was on the brink of being overthrown at Tiananmen Square in 1989. Those in the square did not understand their power. Once again, the people are making demands against the powerful. It is heartening to hear Tiananmen survivors support their country from afar, but even their present re-appearance shows once again that the Party, deaf to the people, is the organized force in China. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant December 7, 2022 Margaret, thank you! I had no idea until reading your comment that the Party was on the brink of being overthrown at Tiananmen Square in 1989. This certainly gives hope to those who feel all is lost in this country. If only the majority would stand up and speak out before it’s too late. The number of voices calling atrocities out could well make the difference needed. China will be us sooner than we imagine if we don’t. Reply
Joshua C. Frank December 7, 2022 I think the fact that the majority won’t speak up is symptomatic of the fact that it’s already too late. Given all the errors our culture has accepted, how can it say no to the next one, when doing so would force people to question a lot of things they already hold dear. Not that long ago, no American would have put up with all this. I’ve heard that the “Intolerable Acts” that set off the American Revolution amounted to a 1-2% tax. The problem isn’t China’s strength as much as it is our weakness.
Susan Jarvis Bryant December 8, 2022 Joshua, I am inclined to agree with you, but I believe there is still that little seed of hope in the darkness waiting for the light to shine on it. Margaret’s Tiananmen Square comment gives me hope. Those who know the Truth may never know the power they have unless they push back… unless they try to bring Truth to light by not kowtowing to those who lie, gag us, lock us down, pump us with poison, and steal our children’s inheritance. Speaking the Truth is the first step to freedom. Josh, let’s carry on doing it through poetry!
Margaret Coats December 7, 2022 Have Mike find for you a TV documentary interviewing all the Tiananmen students and other leaders who escaped China. It may be a 2-hour production, and I’m sorry I don’t remember more information about it. The square was jampacked because people from all over China had heard about the protest. Many came to Beijing by train to join it. The first army units sent in by the government went over to the demonstrators. That meant the demonstrators had guns and trained military on their side. With hindsight, the leaders now realize they could have and should have taken over TV and radio stations. The Party panicked, and sent for troops from the farthest reaches of the country, probably including some who could not speak standard Chinese. These troops were not sent in right away, but kept in fenced compounds to prevent their having any contact with Beijing people. They were told the country was at war with foreign infiltrators, whom they would need to destroy in the city. Meanwhile, students in the square received information about Party plans, and as their last democratic act voted to abandon the square. This reduced the numbers present in the square when soldiers arrived, but also meant that supporters who had come from outside Beijing, with nowhere to run or hide, were the principal targets of the attack. Had the leaders instead issued a rallying call, there might have been a pitched battle in the square, maybe even bloodier than the massacre, lasting longer and perhaps changing history for China and the world. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant December 8, 2022 Margaret, thank you very much for this. It sounds like a must-see documentary. I’ve already got my ace researcher researching!
Damian Robin December 7, 2022 Brilliant, Susan. It’s usually thought that the tyrannical power-brokers make the truth speakers and innocent unheard, unseen and untouchable (but not unknown) by their violent repression and clever subterfuge. However, you say the truth here by showing that the repressers become insensitive. They don’t hear what’s going on, not just by their negative force. They lose the ability to perceive the human suffering. They lose their senses. They succumb to madness. “CCP will never hear”. How can ‘it’/‘they’ continue doing what they are doing without anesthetizing themselves — without becoming inhuman, without becoming and propagating evil ? (This doesn’t really need to be a question.) Truth said here in your poem and truth said strong and with intelligent beauty. Well said. Well done. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant December 7, 2022 Damian, thank you very much for your perspicacious comment. I especially appreciate you pointing out that “… repressors become insensitive. They don’t hear what’s going on”… that is because Communism is devoid of a soul. It is a godless religion that deals in the mind and the manipulation of it. When sinful man plays God, the results can be nothing but the soulless degradation of humanity by those who seek the power of control over those they reduce to slaves to their evil cause. A religion like that never hears the screams or feels the suffering of others. Globalism is the new name for Communism. Reply
Brian Yapko December 7, 2022 Susan, this is another excellent poem of adrenaline and angst, crafted out of rage and full of observation and insight we would all do well to heed. I especially love the closing line, “Despair will rend the air while despots scoff.” China is infuriating and it’s terrifying — a powder keg whose influence must be contained. Its big cities are especially disturbing because they are ultramodern and immensely intimidating on a non-human scale. China seems to care about power and materialism to the exclusion of all human and spiritual values. It could never achieve what it has without the abject subjugation of many of its people, like the Falun Gong and the Tibetans. But make no mistake — a huge number of people there in places like Shanghai and Beijing, really seem to dig the materialism and the power. China is a powder keg. How will it’s history play out? Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant December 8, 2022 Brian, you have relayed with clarity and foresight all that worries and angers me over China, and as you well know, just like you, I simply have to vent poetically. It’s a shame that the news Mike has given links to isn’t widespread and that many are oblivious to the fact that the dragon is breathing its fire on our doorstep… perhaps then, there would be more pushback… or not, as the case maybe. Nothing fails to surprise me these days. Brian, thank you for your perspicacity, your sanity, and your integrity. Reply
Norma Pain December 7, 2022 Thank you for this shout-out poem Susan. The evil that is happening needs to be called out and you do it so well in your amazing poetry. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant December 8, 2022 Norma, I thoroughly appreciate your comment. It looks like there may well be a few more shout-out poems screaming from the pages of the SCP… everywhere I turn these days there seems to be something to grouse about… poetically, of course 😉 Reply
space character December 12, 2022 Following the anti-lockdown protests, the Chinese government has eased covid-related travel restrictions. Our protective system are being drawn down. Covid testing facilities are being dismantled. There is no medicine in the pharmacy. Many of my co-workers are coughing and I can’t tell if I’m infected. Many elderly people and children may not survive this winter. China has a population of 1.4 billion. As long as there is a 2% mortality rate, it also means that 28 million people will die from Covid and secondary disasters caused by the run on the medical system. None of this would have happened as long as our hard-blocking system remained in place. But it doesn’t exist anymore. What is all this for? The so-called “freedom” from anti-lock down protesters and liberals? If you still have a soul–hope you have–I hope you will feel bad conscience about it. Reply
Mike Bryant December 12, 2022 Are these murderers, our rulers, now perverting the medical systems of earth for mayhem, murder and profit? And must we now trust these tyrants who have killed hundreds of millions of innocent people world wide? What reason is now given for the wholesale slaughter of the elderly, the infants, the sick, and the bold? Where is Tank Man? Where are the Falun Gong? Where are the Uighurs? Where are all those who are “different” from the “state-approved” norm? When will YOU be the next target of this rampaging sameness? When you are, be assured that the enforcers have many ways of killing you, and many reasons to do it. Do I have a conscience? Yes… it is a pity that these murderers do not. Are you living on another planet, space creature? Reply
