2008 OPENING CEREMONIES WERE BEYOND GREAT

2008 OPENING CEREMONIES WERE BEYOND GREAT

Roger A. Davis

Beijing’s Bird Nest was the stage
2008 Drummers in unison, what a rage
Lighted Olympic Rings rising from the floor
A giant, unrolling scroll and so much more

Singing, dancing and fireworks displays
Costumes, history and symbolic arrays
The moving printing blocks, an unbelievable feat
For me, the drummers; and to this, all else took a back seat

The people dressed in lights were awesome to see
Patterns, precision combined to a tee
Especially the gymnastic bird nest
Art, dance and technology at its best

A circle of 2008 masters of Tai Chi Chuan
Moving together like one man
Waving school children, center seated
Symbols of the new and the old will not be defeated

The parade of athletes, host country goes last
Something special happened as their flag passed
Yao Ming, the flag bearer at seven foot six
Beside him, a small second grader thrown into the mix

Lin Hao, a recent earthquake survivor and hero
Captured my heart and the show
He crawled out of the rubble, then twice back in again
Saving two classmates; the Games’ exclamation point was Lin