The educated minds of the middle class
Fight wars that are not necessarily their own.
Outcast, misfit, half-caste
Offspring of expatriates and religious pariahs
Feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders,
They plot and scheme and scream
At the decadence around them,
Dually living in their den of inequity,
Where relationships that are meant to be governed
Equally are defended by men.
And when a woman exercises her "freedom"
The typical male response of jealousy ensues.
A reaction tantamount to hypocrisy
In the couples joint war against their elder generations.
Perpetuation of misogynistic submission,
Concubinage and courtesans.
And the man finds pride not in being a man
But at not being a woman
And the killer discovers he despises
Not those he kills but those who do not
For as sad as it may be
Violence brings change
And change is brief
So when change becomes constant
The past is forgotten or remembered
In a romanticized rendition of the truth
So as the pages turn,
The words still appear fresh.
And shanghai of 1927
Might as well be san francisco of 1999