Texas Breakdown

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE

 

Texas Breakdown

 

A raging storm of ice and snow

Sweeps over this great land

Like the horsemen of the apocalypse

Forcing Texas to take a stand

 

Blame it on the windmills

Blame it on the sun

Blame everyone and everything

Before the week is done

 

When it comes to power grids

The Lone Star stands alone

Cut off from all the nation

Calling names and throwing stones

 

Blame it on the liberals

Blame it on the fates

Blame it on the almanac

And all the other states

 

You can huff and puff a hurricane

You can plead for federal aid

But when all the clouds are lifted

This is the mess you made

 

No you’re not to blame for nature

We know it isn’t fair

Still you knew this day was coming

And you failed to get prepared

 

Blame it on the weather

Blame it on the stars

Blame it on the Green New Deal

We all know you’ve gone too far

 

The people do not deserve this fate

It was nothing that they did

Except to elect a government

That took the lowest bid

 

Blame it on the currents

Blame it on the gods

Blame it on the roulette wheel

With a wink and a knowing nod

 

Eyes

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR

Eyes

 

I greet the day with eyes wide open

I wonder and amaze

What fabulous events will unfold

To mystify or enchant me

What illuminating tales will be told

I am the receiver of golden promise

My senses are tuned to raise

I am the witness to the story

My eyes behold the daze

I see what others cannot see

Perceived beyond the phase

A world in liquid motion

A time of wicked lies

A place of pure devotion

A wonder to my eyes

 

The waters breathe and take it in

Air flows in waves of power

The earth below our humble feet

Churns in transformation

Fire rules the sky and soothes

The planet even as it burns

Life reveals itself at every turn

We breathe it in and learn

 

These eyes these ears this heart this mind

Are blessed with everything we find

As we await that final night

That final breath that ends our flight

 

 

Ferlinghetti (RIP)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR

Ferlinghetti

 

“If you would be a poet,

create works capable of answering

the challenge of apocalyptic times.”

 

-- Poetry as Insurgent Art

 

He fought the endless battle

For justice and equality

For peace and integrity

For art and creativity

With passion through poetry

 

He asked us to Speak Out

From our hearts to change minds

With our arts and our many voices

He was strong but always kind

 

He knew it was a battle

That would not end

Not in his lifetime or mine

He knew it was the fight

That mattered most

The constant state of struggle

That keeps the heart pumping

That keeps the ball rolling

That keeps the march marching

That in the end tells the story

Of humankind

 

He was the keeper of the beat

Holder of the sacred torch

Bearer of the golden flame

An institution of the City

Protector of the Lights

The banner of a generation

Passed through his hands

And settled in his soul

 

(Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Poet Extraordinaire,

Founder of City Lights; born in Bronxville NY,

March 24, 1919, died SF, February 22, 2021.)

 

The Blank

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR

The Blank

 

The ability of the mind to see

Whatever we might want to be

To mold and bend reality

To shape it to our will

To make the river still

The empty glass to fill

     and drink

 

We are living in a dream

Not caring what it means

Tearing at the seams

We walk our lonely roads

Disguising what it shows

And hiding what we know

     to be true

 

We’re filling in the blanks

While offering our thanks

To all within the ranks

Of those who do not care

Who fix their eyes and stare

While sitting in their chairs

     of comfort

 

We must find another way

To greet the light of day

To guide a lamb that strayed

To find our way back home

No more to blindly roam

Like children left alone

     and lost

 

We Will Overcome

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

 

We Will Overcome

 

We are backed against the wall

A pit of vipers at our feet

Outnumbered and outgunned

We are staring at defeat

But we strengthen our resolve

As the battle is not done

We swear on all that’s sacred

We will overcome

 

From a summer of blazing fire

To the winter of the freeze

We can hardly remember when

Our lives were blessed with ease

We have endured the great pandemic

We will survive the next disease

Fire wind ice and thunder

An explosion of the sun

Whatever nature nurtures

We will overcome

 

The preachers cry for mercy

Prophets hang their heads

Undertakers prosper

Soldiers count the dead

Poverty is everywhere

The peasants have no bread

The glory days are finished

No more battles to be won

Yet when the day turns over

We will overcome

 

Serbian Triumph

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Serbian Triumph

 

The people of Serbia

Have quietly been blessed

By being open to vaccines

They have surpassed the rest

 

While all of Europe hesitated

To open up their doors

The Serbians decided

Not to fight that war

 

They accepted new vaccines

From the Russians and Chinese

When others remained skeptical

They chose to say please

 

Only time can determine

If they made the right choice

But when it comes to saving lives

Politics should have no voice

 

Support Journalism (On Tyranny)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ON TYRANNY

Support Journalism

 

Reporters are nearly obsolete

Journalists are a vanishing breed

To encourage truth and wisdom

Buy a newspaper plant a seed

 

Information is everywhere

But all sources are not the same

Many are merely propaganda rags

Misinformation is their game

 

We should investigate every story

We need to verify the facts

If we’re to be informed citizens

It’s not enough to just react

 

The internet is but a conduit

A simple means of communication

By feeding you what you would be fed

It creates a sphere of isolation

 

Support your local journalists

Support the journalistic creed

The truth may not serve our wants

But it may be what we need