by Chris L. Butler
Animus aggression
unhinged & unchecked.
Jet propulsions
accompanied by
mass explosions.
Convicted felons
claiming criminality.
An ironic eruption.
Manifest destiny?
No, even worse.
Manifested violations
of international law.
A cruel collective
giving dangerous
directions to gain
crude investments.
Got other nations
quaking each time
he utters the word
liberation. Cabinets who
claim to be peacemakers
yet the traits exhibited
are the total opposite
of Quakers. Some see
a circle of friends.
To us? We see a circle
of dictators. Perpetrators
of neo neo colonization.
It’s like we learned nothing
from Iraq, Afghanistan,
Vietnam, Libya, or Syria.
Forget our issues in America
if oil money is on the table.
Copy & paste a country name
here enters Venezuela.
To us? We see a circle
of dictators. Perpetrators
of neo neo colonization.
It’s like we learned nothing
from Iraq, Afghanistan,
Vietnam, Libya, or Syria.
Forget our issues in America
if oil money is on the table.
Copy & paste a country name
here enters Venezuela.
How is this any different?
Chris L. Butler is a Black American-Canadian poet from Philadelphia, PA living in Southern Ontario outside of Toronto. He is the author of the forthcoming chapbook Melodies of the Oppressed (Ethel Zine, 2026) and four other chapbooks. Chris' work has been featured in Variety Pack, Poems for Persons of Interest, Ghost City Review, Pinch Journal, Southern Florida Poetry Journal, and more. He is a 3x Pushcart Prize nominee, and a 1x Best of the Net nominee.
