Running for my life, the pounding of my heart thumps in my ears
Sounds of sirens blast
An arc of tear gas hisses through the air
My eyes water with pain, my sore throat burns, screaming for air
I slam head first on the cold cement pavement
Am I a criminal?

High-pitched screams echo in the night
Yellow Umbrellas open up in unison
Huge crowds dissolve, bodies falling onto each other
Shouting “Freedom”, my dry mouth is cracking with pain
I again surge forward with the few hundred thousand students,
Seething with anger at the police reaction.

What have I done wrong? I just want to vote.
………

My once fresh vegetables and meat
Rotting in my tiny restaurant in Central
My eyes fill with tears
I have spent my whole life to build this business
These two weeks, everything gone
How can they not see?

Watching the students blocking the streets
I quiver with anger at their actions
It hurts to see my children hungry
The anguish in my father’s eyes
The students have protested day after day, week after week
But I have no choice in this

Their selfish movement!