Thursday, January 11, 2018

Chinatown Dream


Chinatown Dream
Laijon Liu 20180111

I get out of subway station and see
the clean streets, the quiet surrounding
affordable rent on not so rundown housing
in the swept parks, kids playing and laughing
the local business employees are paid
for official holidays and sick days
roast ducks, juicy chicken hung behind windows
the restaurant grades are all A

grandmas are dancing in the parks
so the short skirt cheerleaders [1]
should dance there too
real stolen gold Rolex and brand names
are sold for only 50 bucks each [2]
and finally, this old chink can [3]
get his small hands
on a pussy too [4]

Note:
[1] "short skirt cheerleaders” refer to mainstream entertainment program, such as NFL, NBA, prime time presentation and show that Chinatown grandmas never gonna be assimilated, still live in their mindset.
[2]"real stolen rolex” refer to the peddling items on Canal street, before 90s the times sold on street were stolen or robbed from local, real things at low price; after 90s, China opened up, most items are sold counterfeit from China in shipping containers.
[3] "old chink" refer to Chinatown, and Chinese arrived nyc before 80s, they are peasants from Southern China, most of them have no education, only worked in Chinatown restaurants and local sweatshops 10-12 hours each day, paid lower than minimum wage by the local educated small business immigrant Chinese. there are two classes in China, same as in Chinatown. their dream was out of grasp of poverty in China, under communist regime and back to Qing Dynasty. they are the burn out and left out people. that's how an empire built. I learned the 'chink' word from some American folktales, not from 21 century US street. another word "coolie" originated from two Chinese character, Hard Labor, this word is most offensive than the Chink word I think.   
[4]"get his small hands on a pussy” is line inspired by you know who. it’s a great line. It shows what man wants by nature, and I use “get” not “grab”, because “get” is not offensive word, more of a consensual verb; but “grab” is non consensual. this should now be an American Idiom, same as grabbed by the balls, grab the bull by its horn, it states how women are treat and valued not only in American culture, but also in most parts of the world. compare the ratio of men and women in each country's office and big corps. also, only a star can do that, would that be one interpretation of the Dream?
[5] Chinatown, Dream, old chink, pussy... perfect word games to preserve the history. (also, not to be obscene, I find many "pussy" word in poetry and literature than dick or penis, it seems dick penis... the male sex organ image project on the mind aint that poetic or classy as the P word, Shakespeare uses "Treasure" to project P word in his sonnets, and "will" to his male part, mastery.