Inhumanity

once upon a time
everything seemed fine
for I saw compassion
rooted deep within
the heart of
humankind
but perhaps it was
just a childhood
dream,
innocent eyes
watching
within a world of
make believe

for now I look
and I see it
struggling
to make its way
to the surface
of ourselves
and our
very existence

held captive in
a place where
discrimination and
destruction abound
compassion now,
just another casualty
within my world
of make believe
crying out
from underneath
the inhumanity

Karen Kerekes lives in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Recent poems have appeared in print and/or online in Uproar LCPA, Carmen Ziolkowski Poetry Contest winner, Dissident Voice, The Lothlorien Poetry Journal, volume 7, 9, Dreamers Creative Writing Magazine, issue 9, Verse Afire, T.O.P.S. Read other articles by Karen.