i was so excited when we got to this part of history in class
because to me it is just one of the richest time periods--
all of it (even in blunt facts) just screams for creativity to be produced from it
and what was really ironic is i was just finishing the book "the good earth" (i /loathed/ that book, btw) when we got to it.

i love how you have relayed it to link the past w/ now, but
in your poem, the thing that caught my eye most dramatically was "seventeen"
it just seems too statistical (and old).
and "telegraphs"

gorgeous, gorgeous poem, though.
-ty.