Sonnet: My Char Siu Bao

Shall I describe to thee the taste of my char siu bao?

I would–truly, sir–but in faith I cannot.

Crouched between ten sweaty men I wonder how

Anyone could spare their meagre lunch a thought.

The fumes of passing cars clog my nostrils

And the pavement dust water my eyes.

This tiny bun can barely my stomach fill

So why should I pretend that it gratifies?

Ah, well, they tell us this arrangement is for the best;

It will be more difficult for the virus to spread.

I’m no science man–I wear a hi-vis safety vest–

So I must leave such matters to the educated.

Though I find it funny that while I have nowhere else to eat

There are restaurants open and empty right across the street.

Report from Hong Kong Free Press on 29th July 2020:

Hong Kong enforced the most stringent round of anti-epidemic measures yet on Wednesday, in a bid to curb the third wave of coronavirus…Across the city, Hongkongers were forced to eat outdoors as the government ban on dine-in services at restaurants kicked in. Photos from local media and the internet showed many people – especially construction workers – sitting on the sidewalks, in gutters and in parks finishing their lunchtime takeaway meals.

Hong Kong Free Press, <https://hongkongfp.com/2020/07/29/in-pictures-hongkongers-dine-on-the-roadside-as-city-enacts-toughest-covid-19-restrictions-yet/>.

I wrote a sonnet to remind myself what an absurd day that was for Hong Kong, and that’s saying quite a lot, considering the amount of absurdity the city has been through these past few months. Also to remind myself of the disparity between the rich and the poor in my home city, a difference which really showed itself in broad daylight, along the pavements of the city’s glorious central business districts, on 29th July 2020.

It’s partly inspired by Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”.

Photo sources: Online movement “一人一相” (equivalent of Post-a-Pic) on Facebook <https://bit.ly/2X7tGQb> initiated by the Construction Site Workers’ General Union in protest against the government’s anti-virus measurements.