by Maura Harrison

The nature of the cosmos never changes:
It’s always breathing tolerance in those
Who exercise the truth, who seek exchanges
Within compassion, virtuous repose.
They stretch and open up a thousand arms
Of energy, a standing stance of strength,
Absorbing cosmic good, expelling harms,
Ascending with pure heart, divine at length.

The nature of corruption stays the same:
A rough and soulless beast who can’t abide
The flicker of a thousand holy mirrors
Because reflected is his ghastly shame.
The brute is tortured, so he tortures. Pride
Pooling its karma in the blackest tears.

In each new age, the vicious beast comes round,
The brutal cog that turns the lawless wheel.
Today, it turns the CCP, the sound
Of persecution howling as they steal
And harvest organs from practitioners
Of Falun Gong. With fatal “transformations”
Of prisoners, the vile commissioners
Of crime lick hell and feed on dank ablations.

My friends of Falun Gong, the universe
knows you’re mistreated in the worst of ways.
Continue to maintain your peace, the balm
Of souls. Console your torturer. Converse
And sing the truth to smaller beasts and praise
The thousand breaths that fuel the soothing calm.

* * *

 

Winner of the 3rd Place Award in FoFG’s 2022 Poetry Contest