The Promise of Beijing

I wrote this poem upon seeing a picture of one of Beijing's ancient landmarks.

A thousand songs of supplication
Echo through the marble halls of the Temple --
That Heaven may bless the vast ancient lands
with bountiful harvest and graces...

Its splendor rising in awed reverence
to the blue Beijing skies;
Emperors and subjects alike
had climbed its royal steps...

Fortified with the decay and progress
of almost six centuries,
The Hall of Prayer stands in majestic contrast
to the ideology that now reigns supreme...

Yet...deep in the heart of Beijing's humanity
lies the fervent hope of love and peace
Ever cried by sages and poets alike --
China is never lost to the world!