Pop Song 1 'At Home in Hong Kong' 1964

Literary Review, Summer, 2004 by Louise Ho

Pop Song 1 'At Home in Hong Kong' 1964.

   feet that paddle
   in the shallows
   hands that sieve
   through slimy weeds
   eyes that reflect
   the thousand lights
   give only
   secondary sensations
   the toes are booted
   the fingers are gloved
   the eyes are shaded
   we talk of cultural vacuity
   we talk of flux
   and instability
   the sophisticated
   talk of inevitabilities
   to explain away inconsistencies
   nevertheless
   we walk firmly
   though we walk
   on stilts
   we walk only
   where stilts
   are safe
   schooled
   in our system
   of indirect transmissions
   we
   like clock-work
   go on ticking
   till we stop
   on the dot