‘Toward the Dawn of Truth’ by Daniel Magdalen

Dedicated to all Falun Gong practitioners who have been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since the peaceful practice, also known as Falun Dafa, was banned on July 20, 1999.

Constellations beaming kindness,
Consciences outshining fire,
Shatter the red mists of blindness
For the lost beneath barbed wire.

Walls shed tears that freeze in stillness…
Through the haze it’s light I’m breathing,
While the vines of hate in shrillness
Choke the faithless hearts they’re wreathing.

Though red acid rain keeps falling,
To the skyline my thoughts wander –
China’s judgment day is calling…
Truth shall dawn ‘midst roaring thunder.

Daniel Magdalen is a graduate student in the Faculty of Letters at the University of Bucharest, in Romania.

Featured Image: “Tiger Bench” by Zhiping Wang.  This piece depicts a common torture method used to inflict severe, prolonged pain. Bricks are stacked beneath the feet while ropes tying the legs down are pulled tight, bringing the legs to the point of breaking. The artist has given both men an ethereal halo – one bright, one dark and ghostly. The stark difference suggests what might be awaiting both men after this lifetime based on the choices they have made. (en.falunart.org)