Gutted (Voting Rights Act)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Gutted (Voting Rights Act)

 

The age of civil rights is dead

As is the age of civil liberties

The Court Supreme to Trump is wed

We’ll have no more equality

 

We’re moving back in time

We’ve reversed the march of progress

Racial bias is now fine

As long as whites do best

 

We have too many blacks and browns

Enlisted in our government

We have to turn this trend around

This is what the founders meant

 

Of course they had no women

Only rich white men could vote

We’re going back to where we’ve been

Too many blacks will sink the boat

 

You cannot right an age-old wrong

You can pretend it never happened

Minorities never did belong

Make this nation great again

 

Lady Justice should be blind

Democracy should not be

We need to represent all kinds

Not just the white elites

 

 

The King's Speech

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

The King’s Speech

 

I am no fan of royalty

British or any other kind

Yet do not question my loyalty

When I say he spoke my mind

 

He took issue with our president

Without mentioning his name

His message was a testament

To the president’s great shame

 

He warned of too much power

In the hands of just one man

He spoke to the day and hour

As much as any royal can

 

He defended our democracy

From Magna Carta to the Bill of Rights

He condemned every theocracy

Beware the Christian right

 

He defended the great alliance

That was born after the War

He spoke with the bold defiance

Of a man from a distant shore

 

(Charles III speaks to Congress

28 April 2026.)

 

 

The Police State

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

The Police State

 

Conspiracy theories notwithstanding

They are creating a police state

They’re not just asking, they’re demanding

They want it now, they cannot wait

 

They’re building centers of mass detention

They’re not just for deportees

This is not a new invention

They are planting despot seeds

 

They don’t like it when we use the name

Authoritarian police state

They won’t like when we place the blame

On the ones who say it’s great

 

But we see what they are doing

It is deliberate and it’s planned

They are funding and ensuring

A new government by one man

 

You may not like to hear it

But it’s coming just the same

All good souls should fear it

To our most eternal shame

 

 

Chaos and Commotion in D.C.

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

  

Chaos and Commotion

 

Chaos and commotion

In Washington D.C.

An explosion of emotions

A sense this cannot be

 

The president and all his friends

In moments swept away

The mad rush to defend

Our leaders from the grave

 

It seems like a production

Hollywood grade B

A work under construction

A film you’d never see

 

A speech that seemed rehearsed

An element of suspense

The acting turned out worse

A message that was sent

 

The “hero” who did nothing

But follow their commands

They took him on their wings

To build his corporate brand

The Occupation

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LEBANON

 

The Occupation

 

Remember the Golan Heights

It once belonged to another nation

But Syria lost its seven-day fight

Now it’s an Israeli occupation

 

The southern part of Lebanon

Belongs to the Lebanese

With the Israeli presence strong

There can be no lasting peace

 

Israel refuses to withdraw

While Hezbollah is still armed

They will violate global law

While relying on their “charm”

 

End the Israeli occupation

This cannot be allowed

Lebanon is a sovereign nation

And the people there are proud

 

You cannot seize another’s land

Though you may feel justified

Lebanon must make a stand

For their sovereignty and pride

 

Extinction

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

Extinction

 

The black rhino is no more

The bandicoot and wallaby

It seems humanity is at war

With everything that breathes

 

Extinction in the Gaza Strip

Extinction in Ukraine

Stack the bombs and let em rip

Our race has gone insane

 

Farewell to the shoreline

Farewell to clear blue skies

Is everybody feeling fine?

Welcome to the land of lies!

 

Wars and rumors of

Death and mass destruction

Hatred has displaced our love

A chain of flame eruptions

 

We are now a warlike nation

Our every move destroys

We spread annihilation

With a certain sense of joy

 

When it comes to extinction events

Humanity is not immune

Our time on earth is almost spent

In fact it’s past high noon

 

 

Senator Collins Stands for War

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Maine for War

 

The honorable Senator of Maine *

Raises her hand for war

The Senator has made it plain

Her cowardice runs to the core

 

She’s made an art of equivocation

On every issue under the sun

In the end she knows her station

Her vote belongs to the one

 

It’s never about her conscience

It’s rarely about her pride

It rarely makes any sense

She is always on their side

 

This time she has gone too far

In a vote for the Iran war

She is Maine’s declining star

They won’t stand for her anymore

 

She would send your kids to die

So far away and all alone

She could never tell them why

The voters should send her home

 

* Susan Collins