by David Feela
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Protesters in Hong Kong continued to demand a fully free vote in elections due in 2017 for the post of chief executive - Hong Kong's leader. Numbers were, however, far lower than the previous week. China has said that, under Hong Kong law, voters will be able to vote freely but from an approved list. --Photo by Philippe Lopez/AFP via BBC Week in Pictures
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As shelter from Beijing weather,
the hand that holds the umbrella knows
repression shreds all hope
but in Hong Kong each umbrella blossoms
like a flower, shields the blindsided from mace,
transforms the protester into a shadow
under Xi Jinping’s glare. How the years
of bad luck for opening an umbrella
must be weighed against the threat
of living where truth never shines.
Remember this season of umbrellas,
this garden of good intentions.
David Feela writes a monthly column for The Four Corners Free Press and for The Durango Telegraph. A poetry chapbook, Thought Experiments, won the Southwest Poet Series. His first full length poetry book, The Home Atlas appeared in 2009. His new book of essays, How Delicate These Arches , released through Raven's Eye Press, has been chosen as a finalist for the Colorado Book Award.
David Feela writes a monthly column for The Four Corners Free Press and for The Durango Telegraph. A poetry chapbook, Thought Experiments, won the Southwest Poet Series. His first full length poetry book, The Home Atlas appeared in 2009. His new book of essays, How Delicate These Arches , released through Raven's Eye Press, has been chosen as a finalist for the Colorado Book Award.