A Chinese soldier
Holds a gun to the temple
Of a Tibetan monk.
In the monk’s right hand
Is an offensive weapon.
It’s a prayer wheel.
Ancient sky dancers
Crushed by military power
Believe thought travels,
And while their lightness of being
Can provoke armed greed into
An angry tailspin,
Their infinite state
Will outlive those made mad by
Progress and profit.
Heathcote Williams