A Chinaman has never walked on the moon.
20.
It has been over a century
since the untimely death
of the Summer Palace.
China’s body remains scattered
throughout the Eastern Art wings
of the western world.
The Chinese government
has begun to indirectly sanction
the stealing of its stolen antiquities
from the museums of western powers.
Paintings have begun disappearing,
first under the arms of cat burglars
then into the deep-space folds
of diplomacy,
one by one coming to rest
above the plush armchairs
of the Middle Kingdom’s freshly wealthy.
Friedrich Wilhem Keyl (German, 1823–71)
Looty, 1861
Oil on canvas
Collection of the Royal Collection