Huang Yuxing, New Order Hurtling Down the Proletariat

by Kiki Wainwright

No matter how life is painted now –
white over black,
red, the color of blood
or green, the hope that changes are imminent –
this painting’s a mess…

No matter how the lower class
struggles in bad weather,
the big boss always has sunshine;
a bad day for him is death for others:
this painting’s a mess…

No matter what the big corporations
or the G-8 say about easing off foreign debts
or never-ending poverty
by adding more colors to their speeches
or changing the motif of their work,
this painting’s a mess…

No matter the shape of the easel
or the brand of paint
or the type of brush they use to mask the truth,
this painting’s still a mess,
a big dirty mess.
It’ll stay that way
until the proletarians of the world
seize the brushes from the rulers
and make their own painting,
a more humane one,
a painting full of love and understanding,
a painting with the colors of true life.