When The Looting Starts Poem by Chen-ou Liu

"When the looting starts

the shooting starts. Thank you! " The President ends his tweet just after midnight. Pop, pop, pop, .. piercing the morning sky tinged with shades of gray.

blindfolded Justice
holding her scales and sword
in the square
the banner, #BlackLivesMatter
stained with mud and blood

Alone on the edge of the square, an old man yells out, "A riot is the language of the unheard." He begins to chant, "Black Lives Matter..." In the corner of my mind, his husky voice mingles with that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: "And what is it that America has failed to hear? "