The din of conflagration, riot damned,
A chaos spilling over concrete lives -
With shields and smoke the bloody crowd is rammed -
Hands clutch at throat as knees do sink and dive.
I huddle, clutching ears and shiver tight,
The ones I love could die tonight; I weep
And beg a power stop this hateful fight,
But sounds of thunder boom and burrow deep.
Why men must split and hurt in guarded hate
Is lost to tongues that cannot speak a word,
Oppression needs a filled retaliate,
Suppress the silence loud, pretend you have not heard.
A truncheon blow resounds inside the skull,
Get up and look around: the streets are full.