Tears for Hong Kong

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Tears for Hong Kong

 

As much as ten years in jail

For the crime of peaceful protest

Hong Kong’s democracy has failed

Yet their spirits must be blessed

 

We remember Tiananmen Square

As if it happened yesterday

A display of courage rare

That spirit lives on to this day

 

The people rallied to their cause

They voiced their disapproval

Repeal all oppressive laws

Some called for their removal

 

The Party came to their decision

Without principled assistance

To prevent a deep division

They will punish all resistance

 

Yet the resistance will endure

Despite all oppressive measures

Of that much we can be sure

For their freedom is their treasure

 

A hundred years and more

We’ll remember Tiananmen Square

What they were fighting for

Is something we all share

 

 

Canadian Trade Deal

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CANADA

 

Canadian Trade Deal

 

Canada is not our friend

That’s just the way they treat us

We would rather break than bend

We’re worried they’ll defeat us

 

Trade talks are suspended

PM Carney says they’re done

Trump says he’s offended

He thinks he’s got them on the run

 

They are talking with two tongues

They share no sense of trust

They’ve reached the bottom rung

They only talk because they must

 

The Canadians are proud

Something we don’t understand

They won’t listen when we’re loud

They’ll dig in and make a stand

 

We began this war of trade

Thinking they would simply yield

As all hopes of fairness fade

It’s not a level playing field

 

You don’t treat your friends this way

That’s not how this should work

We’ve invited them to play

But they are dealing with a jerk

 

The Korea Problem

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Korea(s)

 

He chose the north over the south

Dictatorship over democracy

So our alliances are in doubt

From Ukraine to the China Sea

 

Our nation can’t be counted on

It seems we’ve lost our core

Our basic founding values gone

What are we fighting for?

 

He promised no more foolish wars

He promised great prosperity

Now we’re mired on a foreign shore

With a future of austerity

 

Putin, Kim and Bolsonaro

Hungary and Turkey

We’ve turned away from NATO

And threatened our democracy

 

Some betrayals cut too deep

They cannot be forgiven

We’re afraid to go to sleep

For fear our world may end

 

Ukrainian Divide

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

 

Ukrainian Divide

 

The fired minister* raises objections

He calls for reinstatement

And a new wartime election

Challenging the government

Dividing representation

Threatening to foment

 

We know it’s been a long time

Without the people’s confirmation

But dividing now would be a crime

Creating chaos and destabilization

 

Ukraine has stood the test

Under massive military pressure

It’s not time to reinvest

In someone clearly lesser

 

You have problems with Zelensky

But he has handled it with zeal

What Putin wants and needs

Is an election he could steal

 

You are winning in this war

When no one thought you had a chance

It’s just not time to shut the door

Put your head down and advance

 

* Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov

 

Trouble in Paradise

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

Trouble in Paradise

 

A major quake in Indonesia

A hurricane hits Hawaii

Are we suffering amnesia?

Don’t we remember the lie?

 

The warming is not real

It’s just a normal fluctuation

Mother Nature will self-heal

We’re protected in this nation

 

And yet the Midwest is reeling

With catastrophic floods

All the world is feeling

We’ll be buried in the mud

 

Yesterday it was Columbia

Today its Indonesia and Hawaii

Everywhere it is hunting us

Can’t you hear the mountains cry?

 

It is the age of catastrophe

From Paradise to Cemetery Road

We see the forest but not the trees

As the winds begin to blow

 

We’re building walls against the people

While we’ve let the dangers in

Like a church without a steeple

Like a prayer that worships sin

 

Buckle down and get prepared

For every threat that nature brings

It could happen anywhere

And when it does it will sting

 

Closed (Hormuz Strait)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Closed

 

The Lincoln is abandoned *

The war still rages on

We’re down to muskets and cannons

Our fearlessness is gone

It’s a strange and deadly game

Where every turn seems wrong

The new military is dopin’

They are singing a new song

But the Strait is not open

And the war is getting long

 

We’re loud and we’re raging

We’re heading round the bend

Our ships and missiles aging

In a war that will not end

Our leaders are half mad

By now the whole world knows

It’s tragic and it’s sad

But that’s just how it goes

Everything is turning bad

And the Strait is still closed

 

It’s closed for the weekend

It’s closed another day

How long it’s closed depends

On what our leaders say

There is no way around

It might be closed til May

As our sense of outrage grows

And our hair is turning gray

But the Strait remains closed

And closed it will stay

 

* USS Lincoln

 

Assassination

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Assassination

 

The leader of a sovereign nation

Must follow certain rules

There can be no assassinations

Or assassination schools

 

For what comes around goes around

As every schoolboy knows

If you put someone on the ground

Soon enough you’ll come to blows

 

They shot the Ayatollah down

Without thinking of what follows

What goes around comes around

That saying is not hollow

 

So we cannot be surprised that

Assassination is now in play

You pull the tail of a sleeping cat

The cat will have a say

 

So our leader is endangered

By his own reckless act

Watch out for every stranger

May be an angry cat

 

This is why we have laws

That govern what we do

If you pull the shortest straw

Everyone is bound to lose