Some say that the change in Chinese away from satire and critique is just the chase of the almighty dollar.  That seems a deficit explanation given the official statements by the Chinese government.  I am no expert.  But, this poem is an attempt to show support for Chinese artists.

Chinese Shelf Help
by Michael Romani

Once was a day of awkward political say
In which the art of Chinese politics held sway
There were landfill shrines to growing consumerism
And deflated tanks aimed at Chinese militarism

Boldly speaking to a Post-Tiananmen generation
Has given way to a quieter veneration
Minimalism to the point of parody is now there
As statements give way to a more abstract fare 

Gone now are the garish but hysteric exaggerations
That both instructed and bemused the Chinese nation
Concentrating instead on urban malaise in the digital era
Instead of the unsteadying critique of political error

This coincides with a diminishing space for free expression
The state deigned that art must serve without apprehension
"Like sunlight in a blue sky" offering " a cool spring breeze"
The totalitarians places the artists on their knees

It's an oddity to return to the ways of Chairman Mao
That there is no art for art's sake and still make art somehow
The younger generation falls under the sense of dollars to be made
The  heart of literature and art is numbly put to rest in its shade

Thoughtfulness and flexibility are caught in the surreality
Of the consequences of irritating the government's abilities
While certainly the ways of the market do have an influence
My bet is on those holding guns as the key to this confluence

The Death of Maret is a resin enclosed bit of pessimism
But, as such, deeply reveals the ways of socialism
Where free speech is subjected to government sanction
Too many closed topics are brushed over in generalization

The art rendered is not longer Chinese but contemporary
We can only hope this phase is simply  temporary
The making of Chinese art with any sort of sting
Is done for now, save for hope of what tomorrow may bring

c) July 27, 2018  Michael Romani
All Rights Reserved