Dragon Strikes
Xu Tingfeng, whose dying
In Xiangjun's arms, their
First and last embrace,
In soft mid-winter snow,
Surcease of separation, strife,
Watched by the prayers of nuns,
Is pure, simple, unforgivable.
He never measured duty,
The cause of country or
An Emperor full of cunning
And appetite, who squeezed merit
Unhesitatingly, then arranged
The splendours of a feast,
Death by poison in the wine.
Earth and sky protect
The worthy in their quest,
For quiet, unspectacular lives.
Edwin Thumboo
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