< Translations from the Chinese

THE OLD MANDARIN GRIEVES

WHEN I was in New York
I studied the faces of the people reading newspapers
In the subway,
And I saw that the papers most read
Were sensational, sordid, salacious.
And in my mind I composed a little message
To the editors of those papers.
"Your readers needed plain, nourishing truth" (I said)
"And you gave them this scented compost,
Spiced and sugared with vanilla and civet.
They asked for bread
And you gave them
A chocolate eclair."

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