The Chinese Medical Student Poem by Raymond Farrell

Hesitantly
A slightly built
Chinese medical student
With scars from a burn injury
On his left hand and forearm
Approached me
As I sat
Beneath the locust tree
This evening
My English not very good
He said
Just speak slowly
And I will do the same
I said
Slowly, translating out loud
At times
But deliberately
He revealed
What was on his mind
His immense unhappiness
With the lack of rights
The polluted air and water
In China
All the time
We spoke
I looked at his face
Into his eyes
But
There was nothing there
To reflect
The dissatisfaction
His words denoted
Before parting
I said
I am here
Every evening
Under this locust tree
Drop by and we can talk
A smile flashed
Across his face
He nodded
And was gone
I wondered
After he left
If Tienanmen Square
Had played its part
In dampening down
Outward expression
And the people
Now, suffer in silence
I myself
Am not given to sentimentalism
But since I've been in China
These people
Have made me more than welcome
And for the sake of this young man
And the many I have grown to know as friends
I truly hope the future is better.