The Engineer’s Fire

When I was a boy, a Buddhist monk
lit himself ablaze on a 1960s page

            of my history textbook. In 2024,
            American Airman Aaron Bushnell

self immolates on social media.
Now, we hear the fire in color

            we feel the flames flare across
            his skin as he lets out a shriek

for Palestinian freedom. My wife
asks me if this will be the toppling

            tower that makes the administration
            say, Enough—since libraries, hospitals,

and universities did not make the nations
say, Enough! One week at work I asked

            the board of directors if 30,000 skulls
            was enough for them to speak against

the genocide. They scoffed at my
statistics and dismissed them as myth

            which is to say, for them no number
            will be enough. I’m almost certain

that ever since Aaron screamed
Free Palestine! His mother has cried

            enough gasoline tears, to light up
            a football stadium from the top row.

A feeling of endless fiery droplets
raining down until we all are free.

Chris L. Butler is a Black American-Dutch poet-essayist born and raised in Philadelphia, PA living in Canada. He is the author of two chapbooks, most recently Sacrilegious (Fahmidan Publishing & Co, 2021). His work can be read in The Pinch, Southern Florida Poetry Journal, APIARY Mag, Variant Literature, Lucky Jefferson, and others. He is a 3x Pushcart Prize nominee, and a 1x Best of the Net nominee. Chris is the Editor in Chief of The Poetry Question, and the Associate Poetry Editor at Bending Genres.