THE CHINESE TAKEAWAY

THE CHINESE TAKEAWAY

After the lager, soon large, the English need

To go for a Chinese is consuming. Filling the face

With such glutens sees the glutton appeased, instantly.

That sizzling taste of the east worked a western way

Through our system in order to become a tradition

Almost as important to us as roast beef.

But yesterday, the Chinese product bit back after

Boris Johnson’s decision to offer citizenship to the stranded

And suffering of Hong Kong. A seemingly humanitarian act,

But one still daring the claims formed by crisis, in which

The empiric claws of Corona wield as much terror as those

So eloquently described by Josh Wong.

The threat was apparent at once, on the Hong Kong streets

And our houses as Liu Xiaoming’s broadcast was an ill disguised

Battle cry. ‘We want to be friends, but back off,’ was his message’s

Only flavour. Know your place, or chop suing will be the first signal

Attack as peace dies. At a time when the world is already being cut

Into pieces, it would seem certain powers are preparing their wok

And stir fry. China has sought the HK meat for so long,

With the surrounding screams doused by noodles, and while world

Defiance must in all decency order out, pushing the pig, pork

And prawns that we are led to believe spiked contagion,

Could be an act of war for a power for whom world supremacy

Yields no doubt. The Americans bridle before the Chinese aroma,

The smell of hamburger fading before the frequency of 5G,

Stemming of course from Huawei, who Bore-is has already

Questioned. Jutting his chin, as he travels, a pumped up

Presenter of some imaginary children’s show on TV. Meanwhile,

The true youth shout Beijing out, thanks to Joshua Wong and his

Fellows, and yet outlining the oppression also defines the end zone

Where the line of the brink can be drawn as everyone moves

Towards it; pushed into the next conflagration while still caught

By dry fires will not solve or save us but see flesh itself wrenched

From bone. It is close to impossible now to ignore either design

Or real chaos: has the world truly been separated and the ingredients

Placed to be cooked by either the heat-death of nukes or the cold

Seeking claim of Corona, on some unknown cosmic menu across

Which no fearful diner could ever desire to consult, pass, or book?

Is it fate’s hand on the pan, or is this just the soup, and the only

Thing you can make when everything is reduced into fragments;

That final mix of marred flavour, that the stars would swirl

As earth’s sought? Or has it been planned carefully, one taste primed

For another, as each Chef becomes Butcher and the germ spread

By touching has also become one of thought? We certainly have no

Connoisseurs guiding us. Dominic Raab is no Statesman. Though,

To talk of trust is the issue, as those who open doors do not feel. 

That notion of trust becomes key in this strange unlocking. Perhaps,

The egged and FU’d young have the answer as they try to prise apart

Each old seal. For now, their voices sing, if mask doused, as they see

What is being done to our shadow. In seeking light and heat they may

Order an entirely new kind of meal. But what will we eat when that

Menu’s restricted? By bread alone, man’s prevented. In seeking

Sustenance, we’ll fall thin, before fat outcry and already starving

Resistance. The British leaders pretend the separated isle retains

Power. And still the city state suffers. And a so-called Security

Law feels like sin. The sun sets in the East and drags the West

Along with it. Breakfast becomes dinner, and all of us a mere

Snack for the finger of fate to flick off the already dirtied plate

We fight over. The takeaway can still take us. For as with

Poisoning, food attacks.

David Erdos July 7th 2020

For more poems from David Erdos visit The Corona Diaries collection 

David Erdos is an actor, writer, director with over 300 professional credits. He is a published poet, playwright, essayist and illustrator. He has lectured on all disciplines in theatre and film for leading performing arts colleges, schools and universities around the world. His books include EASY VERSES FOR DIFFICULT TIMES, THE SCAR ON THE CLOUD, OIL ON SILVER, NEWS FROM MARS, CHANGING PLACES WITH LIGHT (penniless press) and BYZANTIUM with the photographer Max Reeves. He is a contributing editor for The International Times and maker of documentaries all over the world. David’s work has been acclaimed by many leading figures including Harold Pinter, Heathcote Williams, Alan Moore, Andrew Kotting, Chris Petit and Iain Sinclair in whose recent book THE LAST LONDON, David features. He can be reached at David.erdos@sky.com.

David Erdos

©    David Erdos has asserted his moral rights as author of his work and has full copyright.