Exchanging Christmas

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CHRISTMAS

 

Exchanging Christmas

 

Let’s exchange Christmas

For a day to help the poor

Let’s gather all the kindness

For an end to every war

 

After all our needs are modest

There’s little more we need

Let’s exchange the happy holidays

For an end to corporate greed

 

We know money isn’t everything

But it’s something that we need

Instead of wrapping gifts in string

There are many mouths to feed

 

Let’s celebrate a day of giving

By helping others to survive

Let’s improve the lives we’re living

For we are blessed to be alive

 

Let’s exchange just one Christmas

To make the world a better place

To give the gift of kindness

To help all the human race

 

Peace & Love to All!

 

A Christmas Wish

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CHRISTMAS

 

A Christmas Wish

 

I wish for peace on Mother Earth

May all have shelter from the storm

Let each receive what she is worth

May all be fed and warm

 

May all of us know love

As forceful as a lion’s roar

As lovely as a white-winged dove

An end to hunger, greed and war

 

May music grace the evening air

May beauty paint the sky

An end to sorrow and despair

May solemn truth replace the lie

 

May each of us respect the other

As if they were ourselves

All women sisters, all men brothers

Put all our bias on the shelf

 

May meaning be revealed to all

Enlightenment to some

May every child grow strong and tall

In all the years to come

 

May Christmas bring a special cheer

To everyone on earth

May we celebrate this time of year

Mother Nature’s great rebirth

 

 

Bondi Beach

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Bondi Beach

 

We mourn the dead of Bondi Beach

As we grieve the dead in Palestine

Mercy moves beyond our reach

There is no justice we can find

 

The Jewish people cannot be blamed

For the mindless vengeance of one man

For though they share a Jewish name

The stand apart on the Zion plan

 

Each man and woman on the earth

Has a right to their own beliefs

Each man and woman has their worth

And is entitled to share relief

 

When we seek vengeance as a cause

You can be sure it will strike back

If we’re a people of civilized laws

We can’t condone such vile attacks

 

So let us mourn all those who die

In the cause of vengeful pride

Let us condemn the reasons why

End the vengeance on both sides

 

 

A Workingman's Christmas

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  CHRISTMAS

 

Working Man’s Christmas

 

It’s Christmas for the working man

A time of joy and cheer

A time to listen to the band

Forget your worries and your fears

 

For other folks on Christmas Day

They’ll celebrate the past

The working folks must find a way

To make their Christmas last

 

Some will work into the night

To pay for these few hours

A second job to make it right

To build those Lego towers

 

It’s Christmas time for everyone

For Tom and Bill and Alice

The children must all have their fun

So grab the silver chalice

 

And raise a toast to the giving season

Give the workers what they need

For everyone must have a reason

To overcome their daily greed

 

 

Santiago Falls (The Ghost of Pinochet)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LATIN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Santiago Falls

 

Jose Antonio Kast

Brings back shadows of the past

The ghost of Pinochet

Has come back to haunt Chile

 

A campaign of law and order

A promise to protect the border

Rising crime and deportation

Mounting fear and desperation

 

We cannot predict the future

But we can warn about the past

As the future travels nearer

Our dread grows deep and vast

 

Recall the disappeared

Remember the oppression

The iron fist of fear

Has Chile learned her lesson?

 

Or is she now condemned

To repeat her sordid past?

On this man you’ll depend

To break his fascist cast

 

 

The Great Northwest Flood

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

The Great Northwest Flood

 

A torrent from the heavens

Tears through the Great Northwest

From Mount Olympus down to Pullman

The dams and rivers crest

 

From the Skagit to the Skokomish

All the rivers overrun

The people have one Christmas wish

That this nightmare is done

 

For now they are in crisis mode

They’re scrambling for their lives

They’ve lived enough to know the code

They know how to survive

 

But this one hit them stronger

Than most every storm before

Each time it takes them longer

To recover and restore

 

We all know it is the warming

That brings this kind of rain

The hurricanes and storming

Our structures under strain

 

We can’t go on pretending

The warming is not here

Deflecting and defending

There is no cause for fear

 

So do whatever you can do

To get ready for the next one

For we know this much is true:

It gets worse before it’s done

 

 

The Ugly American

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

 

The Ugly American

 

The ugly American has come to pass

We know his name and number

We hope his reign will not last

The dream is in a slumber

 

It seems we don’t like anyone

Who isn’t white and wealthy

Until this wave is finally done

Our nation is not healthy

 

We’ve fallen to the right extreme

The ones who do not care

They never liked the fabled dream

To them it seems unfair

 

That whites are not the ruling class

All others get in line

Money is the only pass

To drink the finest wine

 

We are the world’s worst nightmare

Until that distant day

When the light of reason fills the air

And this one goes away