5,000 years take up
its nook and corners
Taipei National Palace Museum

black and white
a spotlessly clean official's letter
the emperor marked with 'i know la'

National Palace Museum, a poem
----

you can have your way with him
call him a devil, a war lord
or if you love him a Great President
to me he is a great saviour of
Chinese culture
all these invaluable
treasures of pottery, jade
paintings, calligraphy
letters and literature
that trace Chinese culture back
8,000 years would have
been ashes or pieces
that broke our hearts
if not for Chiang Kai Shek

remember mao and his
cultural revolution cadres
who blacked out more than
a decade of chinese's mind
and countless relics and treasures
the years will never bring back

john tiong chunghoo

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/travel-taiwan-haiku-national-palace-museum-taipei/