Countless Chinese Faces

Countless Chinese faces

Nameless and anonymous

They float by in an endless stream

Along every street

Around every corner

After a while they all look the same

Recognition is few and far between

And if I squint, at a great distance

I cannot tell the difference

Between my friends and my foes

And yet I know, and I am almost every day reminded

That beneath the monolithic exterior

There are individuals each different and unique

Each struggling desperately

For their rightful place in the sun

Each desperate to escape the narrow constraints

Life has set upon them