Walking in Dreams

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR

Walking in Dreams

 

Floating through distant galaxies

Slowing light speed to a crawl

Exploring inner space and outer limits

Without any limits at all

 

Diving to the deepest depths

Where the liquid darkness concealed

Creatures beyond imagining

Its hidden mysteries revealed

 

Rise above the mountains

Soar across the seven seas

Revisit those who left this earth

And return with a sense of ease

 

We are the gods of our existence

When we walk in our dreams

No adventure beyond our reach

No experience beyond our means

 

Tree of Life

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE

 

Tree of Life

 

I watch the wheel spin round and round

I wonder how we do not remember

I see the towers come crashing down

I think back on that day in September

 

They took a wrong turn

They made a bad choice

They followed a trail of lies

Now they’ve learned their lessons

Now they understand

They bow down before the tree of life

 

We have gone to war

We have fought the fight

To the gods of greed we have sacrificed

We have fought for money

We have fought for pride

We have fought pretending

God was on our side

 

We took a wrong turn

We made a bad choice

We followed a trail of lies

Now we’ve learned our lessons

Now we understand

We bow down before the tree of life

 

We have learned a hard truth

Now we realize

Playing follow the leader

It was never wise

If we want to grow

And we want to survive

We must value the planet

We must value all tribes

We bow down before the tree of life

We bow down before the tree of life

 

Protect your Privacy (On Tyranny)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ON TYRANNY

Protect your Privacy

 

My life is an open book

But nobody wants to read it

 

In the age of the internet

Assume that everything you write

Say think or feel is accessible

To anyone who cares

 

The age of privacy is dead

 

We have sacrificed our privacy

By virtue of the times we live in

 

Reclaim your privacy

Communicate face to face

Write letters to your friends

Establish a personal space

 

In today’s misbegotten world

Know that we are never alone

Support laws to penalize corporations

That violate our personal zones

 

Blackmail and extortion

Are nasty words and deeds

Using personal data for profit

Is the epitome of greed

 

Fight back where you can

Resist where you cannot

Send a message to them all

Our privacy cannot be bought

 

 

Real World Politics (On Tyranny)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ON TYRANNY

Real World Politics

 

A wise person once said

All politics is local

I don’t know if that’s true

But I do know this:

Your sphere of influence is limited

From behind a computer screen

Typing comments and tweets

On social media

Counting hearts and thumbs

 

When the pandemic passes

Go out into the world

Make new connections

March the streets of protest

Attend gatherings

Find interesting people

Talk to them and listen

 

We have been behind closed doors

Far too long

Make it a point to breathe

The sunlit air

Listen to the four winds

See which way they blow

Let others know you care

 

We are travelers on a small orb

Crowded yet alone

We can find common ground

If we adopt a civil tone

 

Cry for a Vision

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR

Cry for a Vision

 

Crazy Horse went into the hills

To cry for a vision

I cry with Crazy Horse

 

Crazy Horse received seven visions

He might have received nine

I cry for a vision that is

Mine and only mine

 

Crazy Horse was a visionary

I am all but blind

Yet I have seen my life

In many places

Many spaces many times

 

I have been the coyote

I have been the crow

I have been the wolf

I have been the buffalo

I have been the fire

I have been the stone

I have been the rain

I have been the snow

 

There is nothing in this life

I have not seen

There is nothing in this life

I have not been

 

It is here

It is gone

It is always

It is done

 

When I awake

I will carry my vision

Into the waking world

When I sleep I will return

To the home in my dreams

 

Human Contact (On Tyranny)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ON TYRANNY

Human Contact

 

In the days and nights of isolation

Disconnected from our fellow beings

We lose all sense of our surroundings

Absorbed by our electronic screens

 

In the silence before the coming storm

We need to gaze into human eyes

To gauge the content of our neighbors

In times of trouble who will rise?

 

Who has rage and looks away?

Who engages to spread lies?

Who tests the limits of your patience?

Who wears a flag disguise? 

 

You may be sure it cannot happen

Not in this time and place

But if the spark becomes a flame

Best be prepared just in case

 

(Inspired by Timothy Snyder's On Tyranny)