here a tallow skull spurting mist
of red and smoke chokes the air
here a woman with a broken mouth
screaming for mercy face down 
in the concrete 

an old black man long-alchemised 
from ashlar to pillar cries in throes 
of righteous anger as the skeletal horde 
burn down his fought-for foundation 

there an elderly couple threading waves of angry bodies 
beaten to a pulp simply
for wearing the wrong hat

and over there amid the blurs of motion 
flames cut open the world 
cars roll by driverless on fire
as a man in a black mask stops hitting a young woman
 just long enough to scream
‘End the violence’