chinatown

In February 2020, an Asian man was physically and verbally assaulted by a group of men in Bayview, San Francisco while collecting aluminum cans. A recording of the incident was posted on Twitter. In it, the group of men could be seen throwing objects at the Asian man and shouting, “I hate Asians.” There were several bystanders, but none of them intervened or attempted to stop the group of men from further attacking the Asian man.

baba / this city is ours / our / black fortune / plastered on brick walls / in fresh blood & pomegranate / cracked paper lanterns / their oil bellies / starving / tongues / stuffed down our throats / what flaps in a foreign wind / too red / five stars / not enough / stars / porcelain bodies / blue constellations / spun around bones / bleach / in our pockets / an antidote / to white man & yellow skin & swollen tongue / an old / asian man / snarfs down soda cans / by a sidewalk / in bayview / san francisco / when death extends / a finger / to his temple / here / you are cupping my hands / in your hands / head pressed against the sky / praying / like / this city was never ours

By Samantha Hsiung