a villanelle

by Joshua C. Frank

We close our eyes to China’s Holocaust
And funnel money to their torture stations
Because we like to buy at lower cost.

Good Falun Gong practitioners are tossed
To killing floors by Chinese regulations—
We close our eyes to China’s Holocaust.

We look past slaughter with our hearts of frost,
Comparing price in icy calculations,
Because we like to buy at lower cost.

While we, on “made in China” phones, accost
With slogans backing brown-skinned populations,
We close our eyes to China’s Holocaust.

To buy cheap, blood-stained goods from them, we’ve glossed
Over screams and dying lamentations
Because we like to buy at lower cost.

The cause of life, is that forever lost?
The Dragon’s fire is fueled by richer nations—
We close our eyes to China’s Holocaust
Because we like to buy at lower cost.

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Recognized as 4th Place in FoFG’s 2023 Poetry Contest