Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Putin's Gamble

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: PUTIN


Putin’s Gamble

 

What he could not accomplish

on the battlefields of Ukraine

He has accomplished on the

stage of American politics

 

Where he could not succeed

in France or the Netherlands

He has triumphed in the vast

open plains and the industrial

Midwest and the deep southern

forests of America

 

He gambled it all

on the wickedly flawed

American electoral laws

 

He gambled it all

on a conman from Queens

with his propaganda machine

 

The whole world will attest

Putin won the west

and with it he won Ukraine

 

Monday, November 18, 2024

The Air in Delhi

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING


The Air in Delhi

 

They have closed the schools in Delhi

There is poison in the air

The smoke and dust of industry

Is more than anyone can bear

 

They are breathing fine particulates

That climb into their lungs

It is killing off their elders

It is poisoning their young

 

All this to serve the masses

To meet the world’s demands

The toxic air is spreading outward

From India to Pakistan

 

They know well it is not healthy

But they feel there is no choice

The people have a desperate need

Though they have a quiet voice

 

They breathe the air they’re given

They will sacrifice their health

Their growing numbers in cheap labor

Supply much of the nation’s wealth

 

Sunday, November 17, 2024

Days of Change

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN HISTORY

 

 DAYS OF CHANGE

The assassinations of JFK, MLK & Bobby

Each event a nation mourned

Each event a hidden element celebrated

We wondered who benefited

Who struck a deal with the devil

Days of sorrow

Days of change

 

The killing of the kids at Kent State

The killings at Jackson State

Shit got real fast

We knew how they hated us

We did not know how much

Days of sorrow

Days of change

 

The resignation of LBJ

Now we knew we could bring change

We could stop an evil war

Bring peace to the killing fields

A new era of hope and wonder

That’s when they killed Bobby

Days of sorrow

Days of change

 

The resignation of Richard Nixon

The man who embraced China

The man who elevated dictators

The man who won 49 states

The man who hired burglars

And kept a long enemies list

Resigned in disgrace

Days of wonder

Days of change

 

The morning the twin towers fell

An act of unconscionable violence

The death of thousands

A declaration of vengeance

The global war on terror

Iraq and Afghanistan

Days of sorrow

Days of change

 

The reelection of Donald Trump…


Jack Random is the author of eight novels (including Pawns to Players and Wasichu), three collections of short stories, two volumes of plays, ten volumes of political essays (Jazzman Chronicles) and six books of poetry (including Life Songs and Lost in Her Soul).  His most recent works are Poemics Americana and Poemics International (Crow Dog Press).

Saturday, November 16, 2024

North Korea Crosses the Line

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS


Korea Crosses the Line

 

Japan and South Korea in the East China Sea

Sending Xi Jinping a warning sign

Crossing swords with the Philippines

While North Korea crosses the line

 

The Russians are emboldened

By the election in the west

A new deal with the dear leader

Will their new weapons pass the test?

Meanwhile Trump is almost giddy

Netanyahu is his special guest

While most of Europe is in mourning

The autocrats are feeling fine

The Ukrainians are in panic

North Korea has crossed the line

 

What kind of world are we handing down?

To an undeserving generation?

A world of warming wayward bound

Years of war and devastation

 

Is it too late to sound a warning?

Is it too late to make a change?

We are in the age of warming

With all solutions out of range

Thursday, November 14, 2024

Flames of November

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING


Flames of November

 

As fire rips through the great northeast

We will long remember

The flames of November

As the warming gathers its feast

 

We look back on the days not long ago

When the soil was too wet for flames

The season passed through November slow

And the seasons were largely the same

 

Now the laws of nature no longer apply

The flames find root in dry ground

We are not at leave to wonder why

Though the naysayers still astound

 

The age of the warming will take its toll

Beware the flames of November

The vast destruction was foretold

For those who care to remember

 

Now the world is in its final throes

Though the world will not surrender

We will live to sing our song of woe

Just remember the flames of November

 

Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Conscientious Objection

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RESISTANCE


Conscientious Objection

 

There was a man named Olaf *

I remember him quite well

I remember his defiance

On the day his brothers fell

Olaf held his principles

Until the day he died

While all around him faltered

His conscience did abide

 

The more we look around

The closer we inspect

All citizens have a right

To conscientiously object

 

We are watching as our freedom

Is threatened to the core

The truth has little value

Our rights have little more

A woman’s right to choose

The right to organize

The right to march the streets

To call out all the lies

 

The more we see their actions

The less we can respect

All citizens have a duty

To conscientiously object

 

* I Sing of Olaf by e.e. cummings

 

Monday, November 11, 2024

Wind and Fire

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING


Wind and Fire

 

Wind and fire, thunder and rain

The world we live in

Is a world of pain

From Southern Cal to the south of Spain

Wind and fire, thunder and rain

 

We don’t believe in the warming earth

Our faith can stop the rain

To a new world we are giving birth

Our powers will not wane

 

Fire and smoke, wind and rage

The time we live in

Is an angry age

In every nation on the world stage

Smoke and fire, wind and rage

 

We the people have lost our way

We’ve sold out to the money crowd

If you have the money they’ll let you play

No dissident or dissent allowed

 

Flood and storm, wind and fire

We’re balanced on

A high tightwire

With consequence both harsh and dire

Raging storms, wind and fire