Tank Man

Some legends need no words ever be said,
Some speak volumes with images instead,
But there’s power behind this metaphor,
When the oppressed won’t take it anymore.
 
It was on June 5th, 1989,
I remember that day very well,
It was the day I turned fifteen,
And the event I'm about to tell.
 
In Beijing China, students protested,
Against a suppressive and brutal government,
Asking for freedom of the press, freedom of speech,
Giving the people true empowerment.
 
But the post-Mao administration,
Released their forces to suppress the movement,
With orders to neutralize and stabilize,  
And put a stop to this revolutionary event.
 
But it turned into a massacre,
Civilians were being killed in the streets,
All across the country, in many cities,
People were killed by the army and police.
 
And when the military sent in their tanks,
To disperse student protestors elsewhere,
An unknown rebel with immeasurable courage,
Stood in their way in Tiananmen Square.
 
The row of tanks stopped for a minute,
The images on the news blew my mind,
One man blocked a row of many tanks,
An impression captured forever in time.
 
The lead tank veered left and steered right,
But the man moved right in front of them,
Blocking their path with his shopping bags,
Stopping the armored vehicles again and again.
 
He then climbed on top of the lead tank,
Then stood atop of the gun turret,
And spoke with a member of the crew,
The situation they were trying to avert.
 
This is the true power of the people,
This is a true strength no one can teach,
Because when you stand up for you believe,
Then there’s no stopping freedom of speech.
 
This is what happens when regimes oppress people,
When basic rights are stripped so you better beware,
Because then revolutions will rise and eyes will witness,
Unsung heroes like the Tank Man of Tiananmen Square.
 
 
To this day his identity and fate is still unknown.