Workingman Poor

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LABOR

 

Workingman Poor

 

The unions have no power

Losing workers shore to shore

Lower wages by the hour

The working man is poor

 

We can’t afford a living space

Debtors knocking at the door

We’re falling back in every race

For the working man is poor

 

Robotics on the assembly line

Automation in the stores

The oligarchs are more than fine

But the working man is poor

 

Those who need get less and less

Those who don’t get more

The system doesn’t pass the test

When the working man is poor

 

The corporate beast is growing

Good jobs are getting rare

The economy is slowing

But the wealthy grab their share

 

Impunity

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Impunity

 

“Nothing’s more dangerous than

power with impunity.” 

 

Isabel Allende, Portrait in Sepia

 

 

Nothing speaks of insanity

Nothing could be more extreme

Than a president with impunity

Decreed by the Court Supreme

 

One wonders what they were thinking

On that misbegotten day

When the ship of state was sinking

And they helped it on its way

 

They gifted him immunity

The people did not have a say

They assured enduring disunity

For as long as he would stay

 

So now he’ll stay forever

He will never leave the house

He’s pulling each and every lever

To get his forces armed and roused

 

ICE is his gestapo

Brown Shirts and the Guard

We don’t know where it goes

But we’re sure it goes down hard

 

Our democracy is at stake

She is trembling with desperate fear

Her defenders better stay awake

Or the end times will be here

 

 

Tumbler Ridge

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CANADA

 

Tumbler Ridge

 

Below the border it would not be news

Or rather it would not be shocking

We line them up and light a fuse

And we spend a few days talking

 

But changes never happen

We don’t operate that way

We wave our hands and wonder when

But the outrage never stays

 

In Canada they feel the pain

It just doesn’t happen here

It puts society under strain

The whole nation sheds a tear

 

The time has come to rein it in

The right to purchase arms

It cannot be the way it’s been

For the risk is too much harm

 

What passed at Tumbler Ridge

Should never be allowed

Maybe they should cross that bridge

And the people should be proud

 

Sanae Takaichi

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Sanae Takaichi

 

Sanae Takaichi of Japan

Has been given a dramatic mandate

She will balance if she can

The nation’s debt against its fate

 

She wants to cut the tax on food

Not a radical proposition

Her defense of Taiwan may seem rude

If you’re a Chinese institution

 

The Japanese demand change

They were tired of being bullied

A reversal of fortune may seem strange

But their dignity was sullied

 

Known for stoic conservatism

Takaichi deserves a chance

To deliver a novel populism

If the working folks advance

 

Managing debt will not be easy

It may require sacrifice

The results may not be pleasing

But the rich must pay the price

 

 

Luminaries of Peace

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Luminaries of Peace

 

Never has there been

Such a luminous group of men

Dedicated to the cause of peace

From Pakistan to the Middle East

 

They’ve all put up a stake

A pact they’ve promised not to break

From Hungary’s Orban

To Mohammed bin Salman

And Turkey’s infamous Erdogan

From Pakistan’s Zardari to Javier Milei

They take their parts in Donald’s play

 

Did I mention Subianto?

There may be others we don’t know

The notorious MBZ

And bin Hamad the Qatari

And oh yes, Netanyahu

Who has yet to pay his dues

All gather around their chair

The heavyweight with golden hair

 

He is seated in perpetuity

To collect his grand annuities

As he greets them at the door

They will put an end to war

 

 

Trump’s Board of Peace:

Javier Milei, Argentina

Viktor Orban, Hungary

Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia

Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan

Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia

Recep Erdogan, Turkey

Mohamed bin Zayed (MBZ), UAE

Tamom bin Hamad, Qatar

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel

 

The Resistance Grows

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RESISTANCE

 

The Resistance Grows

 

We don’t know how it began

We don’t know how it will end

But we know and understand

What lies around the bend

 

We’ve all seen this act before

Like a nightmare in repeat

It’s a scene of blood and gore

They’re all pounding out the beat

 

We’ll be heading out tomorrow

To see what we can do

We’ll take what we could borrow

To see our mission through

 

The men in masks will follow

Wherever we may roam

Their hearts and souls are hollow

They’ll hunt us to our homes

 

They’ll take away our families

They’ll threaten all our friends

They’ll call us all the enemies

From which they must defend

 

But the people won’t believe them

They’ve seen enough to know

Too often they’ve deceived them

Their sense of outrage grows

 

 

A Thousand Little Fires

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RESISTANCE

 

A Thousand Little Fires

 

You cannot fight a war

With water guns and whistles

It does no good to roar

When the enemy’s firing missiles

 

He starts a thousand little fires

He knows we can’t address them all

Before long we’ve grown tired

We just can’t answer every call

 

He lights a fire in Ukraine

He lights another at the border

He pretends to be restrained

He cries out for law and order

 

He wants Greenland under ice

He wants Canada to pay

He’d like us to pay the price

To send our working force away

 

There are a thousand little fires

Every single one is burning bright

Every circumstance is dire

It’s all too much for us to fight

 

So choose your battle and take aim

Keep your target in your sights

Exposing lies and naming names

Holding justice to the light