You cannot shout
loudly enough
at the news on TV
or punch your keyboard
hard enough
with stiff index fingers
like little fists

to mold the world
to your desired shape

maybe
you can squint
narrowly enough
to glimpse your own countenance
in the pages of sacred books

But can you glare
intensely enough
to make those you despise
vanish?

And wouldn't you be lonely
if you could?

because it feels good
hating people

it’s more fun
and easier
than loving them

especially from a distance

building enemies of straw
and whacking them
like piñatas
with your vocal bludgeon

just as a child piles blocks
to knock them down
and cackle
at his destructive power

then pile them again

but he's aware
it’s a game