I’ve Had Enough

The world is on fire.

It is ready to explode.

A piece of it probably just blew up.

If we are silent when someone else screams, while our brothers and sisters cry out in agony,
then we are part of the problem.

I am tired of being responsible or somewhat
to blame or even a semi-innocent bystander.

I am fed up with the well-rehearsed rhetoric of leaders who claim they want
opportunity, safety and security for all people,
but continue to support the way things are.

I am numbed by a world which can never have enough. Enough things, enough pain,
enough destruction, enough conquest.

Enough of the desolate hunger of greed, enough of the misery of the vulnerable,
enough of the rule of systemic hatred.

Enough!

Please Note: This was written for this year’s 100,000 Poets for Change, and performed at an event hosted by the author in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Patrick Connors first chapbook, Scarborough Songs, was released by Lyricalmyrical Press in 2013, and charted on the Toronto Poetry Map. Other publication credits include: Toronto Quarterly, Spadina Literary Review, Sharing Spaces, Tamaracks, and Tending the Fire. His first full collection, The Other Life, was released in 2021 by Mosaic Press. His new chapbook, Worth the Wait, was released this Spring by Cactus Press. His latest collection, The Long Defeat, is newly released by Mosaic Press. His Facebook, Instagram, and X pages. Read other articles by Patrick.