I don’t want to world
An original poem
I’ve decided I don’t want to world anymore
I think I’d much prefer to be left alone
It feels like life is becoming a chore
Stupidity is now humanity’s capstone
First we hated the Christians
For their backwater religion
This was a sin worthy of crucifixion
For anyone under Roman suspicion
Then as time went on we persecuted the Jews
This for the sin of hating the Christians
Consequently we heaped on the abuse
Belittled the people and derided their religion
Indigenous tribes did not fare any better
Persecuted and forced into exile or bondage
Many would perish because of this pressure
“Serve us or you die”, was the clear message
Yes, I’m sure I don’t want to world anymore
It feels like we’re a disease without a cure
Those same “Christians” who were once hated
Now used their religion to rule mankind
And for the rest of time it will be hotly debated
Is this what Christ wanted, was this his design?
Black, brown and any other person of colour
Now faced the whip of the colonial master
If you were not white you were seen as the “other”
Now came the time of celebrating alabaster
We survived segregation, but not without schisms
Brother fighting brother for racial equality
Soon we would talk about evil communism
In hating the “other” we find camaraderie
Pretty sure I just don’t want to world from today
It’s getting too much, something must give way
We’ve killed millions of people, in hundreds of wars
Oppressed and tormented innocent souls
Even animals haven’t escaped our ravenous jaws
In our fleeting attempts at greed and control
One man wants to lord his power over another
Caring little for the pain and anguish it brings
A level of depravity not limited by colour
Some people are just driven to do evil things
Growing older has taught me one simple truth
Money is not the root of all evil
The hate that we harbour is learned in our youth
It’s something within us, something gross and primeval
Some are driven by greed, hate, lust and revenge
Some just want ruin and destruction
Others don’t care who they hurt or offend
They stop at nothing to fuel their addiction
I’m starting to think I don’t want to world
For all that I’ve read, heard and observed
The misery of others, give some people joy
They revel when others feel pain
Happy to see the lives of others destroyed
In their eyes peace and love are profane
Is it possible to solve this riddle of hate?
Can we ever hope for peace in our time?
Some say that we can, if we simply have faith
The answer they profess is in the divine
But is it a cop out, waiting on holy intervention
While violence is committed in a divine name
Sins easily forgiven with complete abrogation
A horrific part of a twisted celestial game
Meanwhile widows and orphans, the poor and oppressed
Suffer from the “good” men and their “pious” ways
But if this is the price we must pay for progress
Then I shall be left dreaming of halcyon days.
The more I experience it the more that I know
I am pretty sure, I just don’t want to world
Bio: Brian Sankarsingh is a Trinidadian-born Canadian immigrant who moved to Canada in the 1980s. He describes himself as an accidental poet, with a passion for advocacy and a penchant for prose, an unapologetic style, he offers his poetry as social and political commentary.
