it is often called a gap but i’ve seen it
i’ve seen the strain stress failure power the heat
1000 degrees and rising exponentially from
alaska to argentina, australia to russia
haiti to the u.s.a.,zimbabwe to the u.k.
canada to china, spain to cambodia

we’ve seen it. it is not a gap

nor was it ordained by zeus, loki or el diablo.
it is not the second coming
richter scales cannot measure it
dimensionless numbers required to
calculate its magnitude and intensity

it is not a gap

nor is this disaster natural
it is a catastrophic earthquake
pulverising all our continents islands
oceans lakes rivers streams
and this pervasive earthquake
was induced by them

the real minority

handfuls of men and women
hoarding power throughout our world
and while we, the majority, scrap over scraps
the fracture lines that separate us from them
continue to explode oozing a pungent
democracy-driven authoritarian-fueled

capitalism

and this putrid capitalism defies all
skin colours genders sexual orientations
abilities languages religions ages please...
this rancid capitalism supersedes all cultures governments and international human rights legislations. this fecal capitalism knows no borders.

though not a conspiracy theorist by nature
the idea of an us and them is eerily familiar
my brown-skinned parents moved to pale-skinned canada in the sixties. they tolerated being tolerated so that i could be born in canada. so that i could enjoy first world canadian privilege. and some days i’m not so sure how many of my hard fought for and hard earned scraps i’m willing to acquiesce

but these days there’s no time for rigorous
contemplation or discussion
the über rich minority has ratcheted up the pressure
pit us, the majority, one against the other.
they got us by the short hairs:
gums bared we gnash o’er our differences
nails ragged we claw up illusive class rungs

we scrap over their scraps and while they feast
in lavish yachts off the coasts of southern france
seismic waves wash over us ill prepared:
no evacuation plans no disaster kits no
infrastructures retrofit to resist this fecal capitalism.

we have a problem.

we see fault lines crisscrossing all our continents
blood drenching soil cement and arctic waters
no aftershocks or tremors yet this thing is still not
over got to stop the quake got to reduce the pressure
we have got to construct new visions of power

our earth is emitting a stifling heat
sound the alarms
be alarmed
be alarmed