Thin Air
Curious. Curiouser than curious, truth be told
Or withheld or suppressed, as the case may be.
I, for one American TV addict/newspaper junkie,
Can't quite tell what's happened,
Whether a massive international conspiracy is in progress
Or if I'm just missing something obvious —
One of those colossal don't-ask/don't-tell moments.
For weeks, months, years
Before the opening of the 2008 Olympic Games,
All that was documented on screens and pages, feared,
Was Beijing's foreboding smogscapes.
Commentators talked themselves blue in the face,
Gasping from the toxicity of the air, the dark skies,
The anxiety of athletes, worldwide, about participating.
Then there was the spewage by Chinese authorities,
Regarding how many factories were shut down,
How many cars had been removed from the streets,
How the smog was, officially, "fog."
But for the past ten days, I've heard not word one,
As though the pollution just disappeared into thin air...
Waiting for the last marathoner to cross the finish line.
08/18/08 - (1)
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