"For we all know lust drove men to greatness
not goodness, not decency"

This line shocked me. I guess becuase I have a good relationship with my father. I do not see him driven by lust as this poet seems to view her father.

"How we managed to fool the experts in education, statistics and demography--we are not very creative but not adverse to rote learning." Not my experience with Chinese students nor does it seem that she believes what she is saying.

Are you taking this workshop now? I am unsure of what I am supposed to do. Any
suggestions?

Taking that line a bit further:

for we all know
lust drove men to greatness,
not goodness, not decency.
And there I was, a wayward pink baby,
named after some tragic white woman

It reminds me of William Carlos Williams's poem "To Elsie" -- specifically, the lines:

promiscuity between

devil-may-care men who have taken
to railroading
out of sheer lust of adventure--

and young slatterns

- maybe Chin is talking about that same sort of hopelessness of people leaving their culture and tradition behind -- or maybe I'm reading too much into the word "lust" ... thoughts?