80

They stood in the intersection of
Three streets in black uniforms and
Helmets with resin visors and
Acetate riot shields fixed in line,
Maintaining as they had been told
A static position of assertion in
The centre of the empty junction.
A change of atmosphere occurred;
The front lines began to step back
And to accelerate and break form
And calls came out of the dark
That sounded like dogs and there
Was a precipitate increase in volume
That became a mass of voices.
Projectiles broke into the ranks,
Half bricks and bottles, and then
The darkness began to relinquish
Quick forms of masked and hooded
Men in black and grey and white
In a mass, in excess of a hundred,
At full sprint and howling for
Culmination and launching missiles.
The two bodies collided and broke
With the force of an explosion and
There was fire over the rooftops.