RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR
A Man with Two Hearts
A man with two faces
Has learned to deceive
A man with two tongues
Cannot be believed
A man of two minds
Remains paralyzed
A man with two hearts
Can never be wise
For his affection follows
His wandering eyes
He cannot be trusted
Nor should be despised
For his love is shallow
With no lasting ties
His fate is sorrow
Be it fall or rise
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: NATIVE AMERICA
First Nations
Arapaho Cherokee Standing Rock Sioux
Laid claim to this land before me and you
Apache Hopi Cheyenne Hoh
They planted seeds that we should sow
Comanche Paiute Seminole Cree
If you cannot help then let them be
Lakota Iroquois Navaho Crow
Let the spirits rise and the four winds blow
Mohawk Inuit Huron Osage
Remember all the wars we waged
Their numbers followed the buffalo
Twelve million to 235 thousand
From Columbus to near extinction
There are no sides to genocide
But the buffalo is still alive
Along with Turtle Island’s tribes
Their way of life is still here
Like the earth mother they hold dear
Our first nations are owed a debt
We cannot rest until it’s met
So give respect and give again
What is the price of original sin?
(Today is Native American Appreciation Day)
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GRATITUDE
Finding Gratitude
If there is no hunger where you live
Be grateful to the earth that gives
If you’re not exposed to a wind that roams
Be grateful for your sturdy home
If you have friends and ones you love
Be grateful to the stars above
If you smile and laugh in ample measure
Be thankful for the simple pleasure
If you have a warm family circle
Be grateful for the ties that bind
If you’re blessed with common courtesy
Be grateful for a world that’s kind
No matter what and where we are
We can always be grateful
We should thank our lucky stars
We have not become hateful
For there is love in all things
And there are those who care
And the one above does not
Give us troubles we can’t bear
Hard times tell us what really matters
Lesser things will fall and scatter
(Happy Thanksgiving to all!)
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: END TIMES
Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
A scourge has come to Abyssinia
Rebellion on the plains of Eritrea
An explosion of deadly virus
A plague of locusts
A swarming mass of refugees
On the border of Sudan
On the horn of Africa
The birthplace of modern man
Become a place of misery
Surrounded on all sides by war
Hunger famine hopelessness
A land of genocide and hate
A land ravaged by drought
Where failing crops are consumed
By hordes of hungry insects
An ancient timeless land
Where the four powers of the earth
Converged in times forgotten
Where the world’s enduring religions
Collided in blood and fire
Where legends sprang from the well
Of a long lost land of sorrow
A land become forsaken
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES
The Swedish Experiment
It was never herd immunity
But something like
They did not ignore the virus
But they hid it from sight
At first there was promise
We held out for hope
When it turned for the worse
They could no longer cope
So they’ve locked down the nation
They will let no one in
They are searching their hearts
For a new way to begin
Too many have died
There can be no doubt
Now they must find
Another way out
If there is a lesson
Perhaps it is this:
You can’t fight a virus
With hope and a wish
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES
Carriers
They bear no ill intentions
They live and breathe the open air
If they bring death and suffering
It’s not because they do not care
They are the carriers of a disease
In which they do not believe
Until their loved ones are stricken
Then they pray and grieve
All of you who will not wear a mask
Listen to my desperate plea
Would you give your child a life jacket
For a journey on the sea?
We know you care about your elders
You care about all those you love
We hear you care so very much
You often pray to God above
So how is it you do not see the truth
When it comes to a viral disease
You could take preventive measures
And you could do it with relative ease
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
After the Storm
Remember every bit of this
When we survive the storm
Every solitary crack in the system
Every violation of the norms
A fool’s last testimonial:
It won’t happen again
Bad and evil always lose
The righteous always win
They said it twenty years ago
When we were wounded to the core
The wise and righteous warned:
Beware the curse of Bush v. Gore
So now we’re forced to realize
How easily the republic falls
Our revered institutions depend
On the faith of one and all
We need to take real action
We need to pass new laws
Or the glory of our republic
Will become a sad lost cause
