A Chinese Marriage

You took your place on a solid armchair Amused with the attention you commanded You told beautiful stories, great tales Of ancient Chinese marriages and their glory You spoke of what brides must endure In the old culture of China Where a new wife must be silently obscure You were the matriarch Empress I was a second class citizen In this Forbidden City you created I was not the Chinese wife you wanted I had too much fire within my bosom My passions burned too fiercely against The kind of justice you dispensed You wanted me to bow in kowtows But my knees would not bend I was not the Chinese wife you wanted I was raw, untamed, untended But the Empress' son saw through The wildness of my spirit He saw a Phoenix bride, a precious jewel The bride he always wanted