Chalk marks on the sidewalk
bullet casings on the street
the scent of blood in the air
police cars by the dozens
onlookers standing nearby
a woman wailing in her neighbor’s arms
a child holding onto her leg
a dog barks, baring its teeth
the thief of life has slipped away
beyond the siren’s light
on shadowed feet and disappears
into the grieving night
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Shirley Jones-Luke is a poet and a writer. She hails from Boston and has an MFA from Emerson College. Her focus is on Black trauma, participating in conferences at Breadloaf, Martha‘s Vineyard and The Watering Hole.
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