Saturday, November 06, 2021

New Dawn

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

 

New Day

 

After so much heartbreak

When so many have gone away

It is time to give thanks

For the dawn of a new day

 

For while life can be a struggle

To keep our feet on solid ground

We must hold on to the blessings

That lift our spirits all around

 

See the joy in children playing

Take the time to understand

For every villain who does harm

There is one who lends a hand

 

Do not linger in the sorrow

When there is another way

Do not hold on to the night

Rise to greet a brighter day

 

For this life exudes pure wonder

From the mountains to the sea

I open up my weary eyes

To take it all inside of me


Thursday, November 04, 2021

The River Po

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RIVER SERIES


The River Po

 

Running from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea

A wide and mighty river

The longest in Italy

 

It feeds the wealth of Turin and lovely Milan

Where da Vinci designed channels

Where poets devised songs

 

It concludes its run near Venice

Where it is populated by eels

Such a very strange phenomenon

To provide Italian meals

 

The great river nearly dried up

Twice in twenty years

That it will happen once again

Fuels our global warming fears

 

The river that turns purple

Like the wines that we hold dear

May one day not too distant

Simply fold and disappear

 

Wednesday, November 03, 2021

Living with The Dead

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS


Living with the Dead

 

Down in Mexico they speak to the dead

And the dead speak back

Not just on the Day of the Dead

But every day

The dead live among the living

To guide or obstruct them

As they desire

To whisper sweet dreams

Or inspire howling nightmares

To give comfort or fright

Through the long-lost nights

 

Up north we also live with our dead

Their spirits walk among us

They curse and bless us

They teach and lead us astray

But we rarely acknowledge them

As other cultures may

We keep them in our hearts

We lock them away

And rarely let them out

We know they are with us

But we keep them hidden

In the shadows of our souls

 

Monday, November 01, 2021

The Tree that Held Up the Sky

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE


The Tree that Held Up the Sky

 

They plunged through the world

Like three fools who did not care

Let it fly! they told each other

Let it break and tear!

They lit a fire beneath a big broad oak

Just to see if it would burn

They fed the flames

That fueled the fire

(no, they did not learn)

They watched the flames grow higher

They laughed til they grew tired

They never thought

They never cared

They never questioned why

This was the very oak

That held up all the sky

 

They did not make connections

When the sky began to fall

They searched for someone different

On whom to blame it all

That one is dark and that one weird!

On this they all agreed

It was what they always feared

The others did the nasty deed

We cannot tell a lie!

They threw stones and made it bleed

Til it cracked the fragile sky!

 

A man came forth with weary eyes

And cast them on the three

You dare to speak of lies?

When it was you who burned the tree

That held up all the sky!

The fools looked at each other

And released a mighty sigh

You know us friends and brothers!

Even if we tried

We could not burn the tree

That holds up all the sky!

 

Of course it did not matter

For the sky came crashing down

And their foolish fate was sealed

When they hid on open ground

 

Sunday, October 31, 2021

The Corruption of Moderation

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POEMICS

 

The Corruption of Moderation

 

Moderation is the avoidance of extremes

In behavior thought or opinion

Corruption is the distortion of behavior

Or opinion for nefarious gain

 

A time comes to call a horse a horses

To call a mule a mule

Let us stop playing West Virginians

And Arizonans for fools

 

No one anywhere votes for a Democrat

Because they don’t want to tax the wealthy

There are a whole lot of Arizona elders

Who just want a chance to stay healthy

 

The good working people of West Virginia

Have never been in love with coal

Ask them and they will tell you twice

They just want out of the hole

 

The sorry truth is both senators

Are on the corporate dole

One is beholden to pharmaceuticals

The other is beholden to coal

 

Stop pretending that moderation

Is the central reason we are stuck

When in fact the honorable senators

Sold their souls for a lousy buck