Travel Taiwan Poem - Taipei 101 Tower Poem by john tiong chunghoo

the insects too
are trying to be higher
101 Tower

101 Tower
insects too wish to be
tallest of them all

I saw a swarm of black insects - have to find out what they are - flying outside the top floor of the 101 buildings. One of them clung to the glass. Another building taller than 101 is being built in Dubai it seems. Well we cannt blame anybody from overtaking us. Look even the insects wish themselves to be at a higher level - than the tallest buidling in the world.

babel babel babel
babel babel babel

tallest building
tallest building

Petronas Twin Towers
then Taiwan's 101 Towers
next in line, Dubai

babel babel babel

everybody rushes
to build the
tallest building
in the world

standing tall
standing bright
standing proud

but when you visit
their countries
do you find
the all important
loftiest thing of
all, the sparkling
jewels of civilisation -
refined character'?
and culture?
people who
die to keep high
their principles?
characters
that would inspire
people
to stand tall
and proud
to greet them?

or do you hear only
babel babel babel
every corner you turn?

hardcore materialists,
opportunists, racists,
immoralists of the
highest order?

tallest building
does it equate
to all things good
builders aspire
to show to the world?

or merely diligence,
intelligence and pride
charging up the sky
for dominance?

this long awaited
taiwan visit opened
the eyes to the reality
behind all the hypes,

the anachronistic
traffic lights that
has withstood the
worst of times, to shine
like the lacklustre yesteryears

myriad faded and stained
buildings that betray
the high tech high
per capita status

overhead bridges,
with all their rough edges
wear and tear that hung over
the heads like the 60s

and uneven pavements
five foot ways one had
to traverse before the
majestic bamboo
tallest 101 tower
shaped to prosper
a thousand years

babel babel babel
the lofty tall order
i always look for
in a nation in every visit

how heartening
when Taiwanese women
stood tall for their nation
to help show the
way to all the
interesting spots
taipei, tainan,
kaoshiung
sun moon lake
wu fei miao
(Temple of five, Ming Concubines)
Matsu temples
confucius temples
peace parks
musuems

and how
disappointing
and dispiriting
when arrogant men
and women
blacken their country's
corridors and doors
with needless contempt
for another asian
they thought
was an illegal worker
siphoning away their money

so glaring their
low leaning forebearance
even eating in
their restaurants
was a stomach churning
painful experience

babel babel babel
well you are bound to
bump into people
of the crassest kind
everywhere
even the a nation
with the tallest building
in the world
babel babel babel

tallest building
tallest building
does it translate
to the loftiest
things humanity
can proudly hold
up high for all to see -

the love for God
and natutre, the human race,
universal peace,
trustworthiness, and loyalty?

the tallest everything
everybody longs
to see in the sky
of this materially
spiritually
crumbling world

babel babel babel