Chinatown Poems | Examples

A Generation 2

We had Gumby
 and Pokey,
And Sanford & Son.
   We had Mark Spitz,
And Monty Python.

   We had Lenny Bruce,
And Chips.
   We had the Sex Pistols,
And A Ballroom Blitz.

   We had Martin Scorsese, 
And Happy Days.
   We had the 
Stepford Wives, 
And Roe VS Wade.

   We had What's up Doc,
 and the Rockford files.
   We had Gay Pride Parade,
 and I can see for miles.

   We had Women's Lib, 
And Emergency.
   We had One Flew Over
The Cuckoo's Nest,
And Mohamed Ali.

   We had A Star is Born, 
And little Chinatown.
   We had Jesus 
Christ Superstar,
And Foxy Brown.

   We had the VCR
And Adam-12.
   We had White Lightning,
 and Josey Wales.

  We had the Gay 
Rights movement,
And Dragnet.
   We had the Deer Hunter,
 and Stanley Kubrick.

   We had the Iran hostage crisis,
 and a Six-million-dollar man.
   We had Carnal Knowledge, 
 And The Stand.

We had the
 Mississippi Queen
And Tony Orlando.
We had Abba singing
about Fernando.

We had Mick Jagger,
And John Wayne.
We had Rare Earth,
And Fire and Rain.

   Turbo1904 ?

Let's Meet At Olvera Street

Olvera Street
It's where we're spending Mother’s Day
Children run around La Calle, and play
La placita de Olvera Street
Family's coming, it’s where we’ll meet
We’ll do some shopping with the merchants there
Spend time at the Candela Shop Square
Spiced and decorated, colorful and unusual candles
Buy a pair of huaraches, traditional Mexican sandals
Time for a new peasant blouse and a shirt that says Chicana
We’ll lunch at the famous taquitos place and listen to some Mana
                                      

Olvera Street is in the oldest part of Downtown Los Angeles, California, USA
El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument. Historically, it abutted the original Chinatown, which was later removed to its modern location to make way for Union Station. There are 27 buildings of various ages still standing.
Los Angeles was founded in 1781 by Spanish pobladores, on a site southeast of today's Olvera Street near the Los Angeles River. They consisted of 11 families and were accompanied by a few Spanish soldiers. The new town was named El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora Reina de los Ángeles.

Chinese New Year 2022

Chinese New Year 2022 *

Oh no! again they've cancelled the Lion Dance
And the Dragons are also put on hold
How I longed to see them gyrate and prance
But the covid virus is still uncontrolled.

The sound of the drums, the cymbals and gongs
So intense and loud we jump with glee
Brilliant red lanterns and cheering throngs -
Their absence will be felt deploringly.

But we can visit the street booths in Chinatown
And wish our neighbors Kung Hei Fat Choy
We'll muster good cheer despite being let down
And firecrackers and Fa Gao we'll still enjoy.

Thus, we will celebrate Chinese New Year
Hopeful that the Tiger's strength will prevail
With his courage and prowess he'll banish our fear
And each hurdle we meet, we'll triumphantly scale.

Molly Moore
* Chinese New Year is a significant celebration in the culture of Hawaii.

Berkeley Calling Me

Berkeley Beckoning Me

I grew up 
In Berkeley, California
In the early 70s
A wild and crazy time

Berkeley shaped my soul
And my heart will always
Long for my home land

Berkeley was always
A wild and zany place
Filled with original characters
Drawn to the city by the bay

The hills overlooking the city
The campus filled with students
The downtown shopping area
The suburban housing 

The street people
The vendors on Telegraph
The smell of marijuana 
Hanging in the air
Long before it was legal

In some ways 
Berkeley seems stuck
In a time wrap

A certain corner 
Seems to be forever
Stuck in 1969

The city has changed 
Over the years
Like most places
It has become harder 
And harder for the working class
To afford to live there

The yuppies took over
Decades ago
But despite that the city
Continues to be home
To a diverse population

Little India emerged
Along with Berkeley’s Chinatown
The old black neighborhoods
Still manages to somehow 
Thrive amid the gentrification

And so as my life winds down
My thoughts keep returning
To my ancestral home
The homeland 
Where I wish to die

The Moon and the Stars Promise

They will not let me sleep!
For me, they are far brighter than the sun.
Which seems to wake everyone!
The moon and stars, though  to me, are the most deep.

Calling awake my poetess' sleeping pen?
Recalling the beauty of my days and nights.
Kites by day~ then fog, in San Francisco nights.
I cherish you, and like my own child, shall never be forgotten.

Nor the Spartan love-god, that came from your hills.
The blessing of teaching in aromatiic Chinatown.
Those memories as lovely and soft as a foggy dawn.
The moon and stars, each night dance,  a sparkling quadrille.


                          5/8/2021
                             ~3~

Business Card From a Burmese Restaurant

I ate at a Burmese restaurant
in Chinatown
and had a decent meal
nice and spicy
just the way I like it

I grabbed a couple business cards
so I could remember
where it was
and just because
I like business cards

Now I am sitting
in work using the card
as a bookmaker
and someone notices
a phone number written on back

So now everyone wants to know
who Robin is
but I have no idea
I don’t remember meeting Robin
or procuring (hopefully) her digits

Maybe it was already on the card
or maybe I was that drunk
that I don’t remember
although I don’t usually carry books
when I get loaded

It remains a mystery
I’m almost tempted
to just call the number
to find out for sure

It’s just that I wouldn’t
for the life of me
know what I should say
or where I should begin

7-23-95

London By Day

There was a lass in Chinatown
Who sold her shadow for a crown
The buyer said,
"We must be wed!
Its pouring rain and you could drown!"

Black Police Matter

As I travel through my hometown Chicago's neighborhoods
   There's a comfy, down-home feeling; these places are good
One of the things that makes them this way
   is their ethnic character and pride, that make them that way

When roaming through Greektown, through familiar haunts
   I spot Greek groceries, bakeries, five-star restaurants
Then on a walking tour of old Chinatown
   The Chinese language fills the air, all around

In West Rogers Park, where religious Jews reside
   Signs in Hebrew, Kosher markets, doors open 
And of course, in Pilsen and Little Village, tortillas, tamales
   enchiladas, frajitos -- everything's Mexican, by golly

Yet as I cruise the streets of Chicago's South and West Sides
   All the police cars I see have only white folks inside
Is it really too much, I wonder, as I come to a stop
   to ask that black avenues be patrolled by black cops

Business Report

In Chinatown
Sales were down
   Rickshaw rides too
   Customers all flu

The Children of the World Are Born Naked

Historians are mere men.
They sail in the high seas of people
To catch a glimpse at the elusive whale of peace.

Yes, History is not just,
It is the poor outline of the book of Life.

Everyday historians climb their intellectual mountains
And observe their nation like the news chopper over the Brooklyn Bridge,
Down are the flipping pages
Like fresh fish caught from the pond.

The children of the World are born naked,
They will be dressed with the garments of their Culture,
They will be indoctrinated by the idiosyncrasy of their Society
Schooled and fed the yellow marrow of their History,

Except for the marginal and exploited children,
They will be consumed like shrimps in Chinatown.

All the children without exception will be made to choose
Between their consciousness and their Patriotism,
Between Humanity and their religion.

Early, the superimposed mind will be placed
Piece by piece in their initiation ritual,
Crowned with a montage of thoughts,
Others' thoughts.

Haiku Path 2

Now and here
Love sums bliss;
A sacred space

~~~~~~~~~


By koi pond
Aqueous surprise;
Lively zest colours 

~~~~~~~~~


Old kung-fu master
Fluidly agile;
Pugilistic dance

~~~~~~~~~


Dawn sunshine
Stray birds sing;
Window ledge chorus

~~~~~~~~~


Busy streets
Winding into nightfall;
Moonlight lady

~~~~~~~~~


Chinatown buzz
Mid-autumn festival;
Tea and moon cakes

~~~~~~~~~


Hazy skyline
Smell of distant burning;
Choking sensations

~~~~~~~~~


Work on words
Haiku fragments curl;
Profound moments

~~~~~~~~~


Feel of moist air
Cool breeze signals;
Abrupt rain falls

~~~~~~~~~




Leon Enriquez
11 September 2019
Singapore

Anniversary Poem

I caught his eye and he caught mine
(Though after years did pass,
He told me what attracted him
Was not my eye, but ass!).

Exchanging names, we made a plan
To meet at evening's end
(For this was way before a text
Or email we could send).

We both showed up, hit Chinatown;
With chopsticks we did eat.
(He taught me how; I've used them since.
They make the meal complete.)

Today's the date we celebrate
That night so long ago.
We've stuck together through the highs
And every single low.

We'll dine tonight with chopsticks
(Though the food we'll eat is Thai)
And wonder how so many years
Have seemed to slip on by.

Purple Meltdown

Purple wig on purple clown
Laughing while he's counting down 

Princess in her gala gown
Through the streets of Chinatown

On her worried face a frown
She's looking for her misplaced crown

While the clown can't do much about her meltdown
He'll at least help to get her home by sundown



AP: Honorable Mention 2021

Submitted on January 28, 2019 for contest PURPLE 2 sponsored by KEVIN SHAW

Uptown

But it's Thursday, 
the alarm clock rang and a 
nightingale squawked 
down in Hoxton Square.

A jump start to the day to which 
I will pay a price.

Eyes still feeling sleep gritty and
moving tepidly through the 
brown streets of the city 
I stop for a tea in the Mozart cafe.

Moving on with the song that plays on inside me 
I make my way to the Temple
though hardly to pray 
Charing Cross that way,

Trafalgar
no battles 
just the rattle of a tin can
the beggar man always sits there.

Leicester Square,
tackier that Hoxton
but riches that hide behind casino doors.

Chinatown 
more brown streets
authentic cooking 
where 
East meets the West

I do my best 
and that's as good
as it gets 
or as good at it is 
on Thursday.

Chinatown

Old roads paved once again,
New patchwork paint meets rain,
New trace of ancient strains.


Old buildings in new bloom,
Urban landscape frames boom,
Old hues in modern gloom.


New patterns in old style,
So many facelifts pile,
Juxtapose such odd smiles.


New ways to use old times,
Ventures of some sort chime,
Money makes odd stuff rhyme.


Commerce and business lift,
Come buy for that Free Gift,
New faces tout in brief sift.


Old Chinatown can farm,
Vistas of ancient palms,
Mix and mingle new charms.


Hear the rustic roar speak,
Commotion piques new peaks,
Watch a new moments leak.


Old wares and new cares ply,
Side by side in odd cry,
Random poise frames new sighs.


Come by and take a look,
All sorts of stuff can hook,
New waves in strange new brooks.


See such quaint old arrays,
Modern dish of odd replay,
Urban facelift now strays.




Leon Enriquez
23 November 2017
Singapore

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