I Am America

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR

I Am America

 

I have had my day in the sun

I have known the glory of conquest

I have suffered the heartbreak of loss

I have experienced delusions of grandeur

I have descended the depths of despair

 

I am but a child and yet I am old

I am strong and yet weary

I am wealthy but impoverished

I am hope and I am destruction

I am your dearest friend and harshest enemy

I am the darkest night and brightest day

I am everyone and no one

I am all and nothing

 

I am America

I was once a shining beacon

Become a dying ember

I have fallen but

I will rise again

 

Untethered

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR

Untethered

 

We have wandered so far from the ropes

We no longer know where we started

Where we end is beyond the scope

We are untethered unbound adrift

Floating aimlessly on an open sea

 

We have forgotten why we began

This endless journey to unknown lands

Each day we awaken to a new dream

Reality has strayed from our grasp

We reach for it and it slinks away

We dive for it as it turns to dust

We conjure it in distant memories

 

We have become separate and aloof

While our concrete world escapes

We claim the right to invent the

Planets and the stars that reign over

Our waking lives in day and night

Even our dreams are borrowed

 

We were not born this way

The real world once fed and nurtured us

We grew and prospered in its grace

We suffered in stubborn defiance

 

When and how did we lose touch

How and when did we lose hold

When did life slip from our senses

Who cut the ties that bound us

To this breathing pulsing earth

 

We must find our way home

We must plant our feet on solid ground

We must feel the wind and taste the air

We must learn to love our lives again

We must love our gracious mother

In all her teeming splendor

 

A Promise of Unity

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: 2020 ELECTION

A Promise of Unity

 

The promise of tomorrow begins today

We clear our sleepy heads in wonder

Was it a dream or will it stay

To cast our fears asunder

 

We wait with guarded optimism

As a divided nation lends its ears

To the newly elected president

Who owns the wisdom of his years

 

Those who brought him to the dance

With affection give him cheers

Others concede to give him a chance

To push back our darkest fears

 

A spirit of unity is born again

After four long years in hiding

Those who walked a lonely path

Are pleased to finally be riding

 

The way ahead will not be easy

We all know that much is true

But we are pledged to understand

What it’s like to wear another’s shoes

 

For tomorrow is another day

A chance to write the story new

We are a nation of true believers

Neither red nor green nor blue

The Year of the Virus

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

 

The Year of the Virus

 

The year of the virus comes to a close

As we take account the virus grows

The year was lost to severe denial

As mass misinformation went viral

 

The virus did not disappear

Though we would have had it so

It lingered in the background

Until it was time to show

 

We’ve suffered through the first wave

The second is upon us

The third will come will the power

Of Apollo or Adonis

 

Let us hope we have learned a lesson

So the same mistakes are not repeated

If we take the same misguided approach

The virus will not be defeated

 

The Healing

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Healing

 

The wounds of the nation run deep

The death toll is mounting

People are in mourning

Children are confused

The world has turned over and over

Anger blocks understanding

Discussions stop short

 

The wounds of the nation are gaping

Blood flows like canyon water

Emotions explode like cannon fire

There are not enough bandages

To bind our wounds and

Not enough people who care

 

The wounds of the nation are wanting

Time to stop the bleeding

Time to remember our teachings

Care for others as you care for yourself

 

The wounds of the nation are healing

We remember what connects us

A nation of liberty

A nation of justice and law

A nation dedicated to impossible ideals

A nation that unites in times of crisis

A nation that rises to the challenge

 

We remember our brothers and sisters

We remember the battles we fought

The wars we won and lost

We are good people

And we will find our groove again

 

Let the healing begin

 

Let the River Flow

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Let the River Flow

 

Our adversaries are powerful

But they have no human souls

And they wear no human faces

They are heartless corporations

That divide us by wealth and races

So many have taken a beating

On the bridges of violent rage

In the struggle for equality

And the fight for a living wage

We stand in line to take a blow

For deep inside we know

The river of freedom is rising

So let the river flow

 

They beat back civil liberties

Took away our voting rights

Compromised our hopes and dreams

Pushed them from our sight

Four hundred years of oppression

The way of progress runs slow

But we persist because we know

The river of freedom rises

So let the river flow

 

A New Day II

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

A New Day

 

The night was long my vision clouded

Sleep came hard and dreams were shrouded

Shadows danced round jumping flames

The world may never be the same

 

The counting never ended

Morning would not come

The rising of the sun

 

A new day

A new dawn

A new way has begun

 

We dared not ever hope again

Yet hope we did (it felt like sin)

We lingered on a distant past

When all our dreams were tossed and trashed

The morning after crash and burn

It seemed we’d never learn

Those horrid days are done

 

A new day

A new dawn

A new way has begun

 

Humility in victory

A touch of grace in loss

The time has come for decency

No matter who has won

 

A new day

A new dawn

A new way has begun