Whose child is suffering?

A roar of rage, a plea for the madness to stop.
Someone called it an

“orgy of suffering.”
Fair image of the current level of misery in the world.

Israel, under Netanyahu’s watch,
Gaza, under Hamas’ rule,
Ukraine, under Putin’s bombs—
death, destruction, desolation and despair.

And all the other war zones, everywhere,
active or latent, waiting for a spark.

Where overnight, the other is no longer a neighbor
who comments on the weather,
shares a joke,
or trades a cup of sugar when there is none in the pantry.

The other has become a mortal enemy.

And the war machine,
turning our planet into waste
faster than our entitled indulgence has polluted the earth, water and sky—
killing, slaughtering, destroying all life,

and with it, hope.

And the lie machine,
turning every discerning observer into an exhausted witness,
and while denying ill intent,
whipping hatred and rage

with high precision and deadly efficiency.

And the cynicism of the mighty,
holding on to power to avoid jail or worse—
calculating.
Their deals are exposed, revealed, and clear to see.

All types of bullies, each indifferent to the anguish they inflict,
engineering it for their brutal aims.

And the children, the children,
the children in sorrow

Whose child is suffering?
Someone demands to know.
And I say,
Why do you ask? Does it matter?