Behind Razor Wire

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IMMIGRATION

Behind Razor Wire

 

They come from Nicaragua

From Bolivia and Columbia

Individuals and families seeking

Asylum in the home of the free

How different are they

From you and me?

 

They’re not asking for a free pass

They are asking for a fair hearing

They don’t want a handout

They want a chance to realize

Just a small piece of the

American dream

 

They live behind fences

Lined with razor wire

They subsist in tents

Through all kinds of weather

Waiting for their turn

To cross the border and

Make their case

 

They have lived for years

Under these conditions

They could give up and go home

But they choose to stay

Because living in tents behind

Razor wire is better than going home

To face gangs and oppressors

They only want a decent life

They only want to breathe free

Are they really so different

From you and me?

 

As conditions grow worse

As the criminals and gangs invade

Making camp life hell

Stealing and kidnapping

Bribing and raping

Some do return home

To seek refuge there

Others hire smugglers and coyotes

With what little they can gather

Gambling on a prayer

Ending up in trucks and vans

Desperate and abandoned

On the barren desert land

They do what they can

For themselves and for their families

Are they really so different

From you and me?

 

Beyond Redemption

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: THE INSURRECTION

 

Beyond Redemption

 

Again and again we are told

Not everyone who stormed the capitol

That fateful infamous day

Was guilty of insurrection

Guilty of racial bigotry

Guilty of violent extremism

Guilty of battering police officers

Guilty of murder in their hearts

Or guilty of murder in the flesh

 

Some were simply exercising

Their constitutional rights

To gather in public protest

To speak their points of view

To make their rightful demands

Some were peaceful

Some were not racist

Some were acting on conviction

Some believed the hype

 

Maybe …

 

Maybe some began that day

On the side of misinformed virtue

But if you were among them

When the racial epithets flew

When officers hit the ground

When the mob screamed for blood

When the gallows was erected

When the cry for vengeance grew

 

If you were there then

To witness what went down

And you did not turn around

Then you are as guilty as any thug

Guilty of crimes beyond forgiveness

Guilty beyond redemption

 

The Trial (Inciting an Insurrection)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Trial

 

We have been here before

An open and shut case

The man is guilty as hell

As plain as the nose on your face

 

Never before in history

Has a president been so brazen

To attack the heart of government

Is as warped as it is craven

 

Months in the planning

There can be no doubt

The mob was primed to kill

To force Joe Biden out

 

Do not think lightly

Of what happened January 6

It was a plotted insurrection

Not some cheap political trick

 

If you think it’s all over

That it can’t occur again

The militias are still out there

And they believe they can win

 

History Aforethought

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

History Aforethought

 

If you could see these events

Through the telescope of time

A century removed from now

When the passion has long subsided

When the partisan divide is tempered

When we’ve healed the great divide

Would we see things differently

Would we alter our actions

Would we take another look

 

If we could read history’s verdict

Would we see the great betrayal

With new and open eyes

 

If we could hear history’s decree

Would it alter our perspective

If Benedict Arnold knew he would

Live in eternal infamy

If Jefferson knew he would not be

Forgiven his crimes and misdeeds

If Sirhan and Oswald knew

They were being played for fools

If the Germans knew how it ended

If the South knew would they defend it

Would they sacrifice all dignity and pride

If they knew they were on the losing side

 

Would things be different today

Or would we just continue on

This march of shame

 

Support Democratic Institutions (On Tyranny)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ON TYRANNY

 

Support Institutions (Take a Stand)

 

So many things we take for granted

Before they tremble and fall

So many things we hardly notice

Until we make the call

And find no one home

It is then we are alone

And vulnerable

 

Institutions of justice

Institutions of law

Institutions of government

A free press and news media

Election officials

A civil society

 

Institutions do not support themselves

They cannot survive without the care

Of the people they serve

 

When the law is belittled

Take a stand

When the press is condemned

Take a stand

When a man claims to be above the law

Condemn the lie

When the ballot box comes under attack

Fight back

 

Institutions exist to protect democracy

It is our solemn duty to protect them

Even at the cost of our safety

Even at the cost of our lives

 

(See Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny)

 

Vetting the Guard (On Tyranny)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ON TYRANNY

 

Vetting the Guard

 

To don a uniform of the state

To wear a badge

To carry a gun in the line of duty

These are honors

That require responsibility

 

Insurrection and oppression

Have never achieved success

Without the acquiescence

Of the police or military forces

 

The price of service must include

A thorough vetting to assure

Loyalty to justice and democracy

The institutions of government

 

Those who carry deadly force

Must be beyond reproach

Of sound judgement and character

Free of prejudice and hate

 

We know it is a dangerous job

It extracts a heavy toll

Those who serve faithfully

We thank from the depths of soul