Struggle

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  LIFE SONGS

Struggle

 

The banality of this world

Wears me down

Like weight on tired shoulders

The cruelty of this world

Takes hold of me and

Bends me to the ground

The disillusion of this world

Stops my heart from beating

The indifference of this world

Triggers my sense of outrage

Sends me reeling in all directions

Like a whirling phantom

Without a place of rest

The deprivations of this world

Leave me gasping for air

Desperate and afraid

 

Yet the kindness of this world

Revives my sense of balance

Stimulates my hope

The creativity of this world

Restores the flow of my desire

Allows me to feel whole

The gentleness of this world

Lifts my waning soul

Inspires me with care

The beauty of this world

Steals my breath away

Engaging my sense of wonder

Renewing flames of yearning

I drink from the well of joy

And let my spirit soar

 

The Meaning of Christmas

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

The Meaning of Christmas

 

The meaning of Christmas is caring

Not shopping at fancy stores

The meaning of Christmas is sharing

From the rich to the needful poor

 

It seems Jesus was a socialist

He believed in giving more

He didn’t care too much for loyalists

To the great commercial bores

 

So take a moment to give thanks

To the ones who need the most

Let us guide them through the door

With a smile and a nice warm roast

 

When the meaning of Christmas is clear

We will all be uplifted and well

We will release a lot of our fears

And rejoice at the sound of bells

 

By the Sea

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

By the Sea

 

In solemn moments by the sea

I feel the spirits take hold of me

And there I sit to this very day

A prayer to take my soul away

 

The mists of ancient tears

Will wash away my inborn fears

The very heartbeat of the earth

Gives hope and wonder birth

 

The sea is where I always turn

When in my beating heart I yearn

To find a moment’s restful peace

All my worries to release

 

I count the waves in endless nines

Until my very core unwinds

And all the pain I’ve ever known

With the gulls away have flown

 

A part of me I leave behind

Each and every parting time

I promise to come back again

When the sea invites me in

 

We Are One

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

We Are All One

 

The stone that makes the mountain strong

The voice that sings a soulful song

That strikes a chord that lovers hear

That ends the war and conquers fear

That steals away the endless night

Reminding us to seek the light

In everything we’ve ever done

Informing one and all

That we are one

We are all one

We are one

 

A child that stopped to ask her why

So many people had to die

Not knowing a good and cheerful life

Not having a chance to try

She answered with a knowing sigh

She could never tell a lie

And all the people crowded in

Like sardines in a tin

We die so we can live again

For we are one

We are all one

We are one

 

The leaves upon a mighty oak

The man who always tells a joke

The one who only seems to stare

And wonders why nobody cares

Enough to stop and share

But they do now

For we are one

We are all one

We are one

 

We gather at the mountain top

The victim and the lonely cop

Who shot a man for fighting back

On the dark side of the railroad tracks

In another time another place

As members of the human race

He looks into another face

And sees in it his own

For we are all one

We are all one

We are one

 

(for Leonard Cohen)

 

The Omicron Generation

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

The Omicron Generation

 

The fifteenth letter of the Greek alphabet

The fifteenth star in a constellation

The fifteenth level of Dante’s inferno

The fifteenth wave of destruction

The fifteenth generation of Euro-Americans

 

In fifteen months we’ll all have omicron

We’ll have it to keep from getting it

In fifteen years the omicron generation

Will inherit the reigns of the earth

 

Future historians will remember us

For what we did and did not do

Deniers will always deny it

But the truth will know it’s true

 

Some stood with the laws of medicine

To fight against every wave

Others stood for superstition

And marched the elders to their graves

 

The omicron will unite us

Giving up and giving in

Why fight the moon and the stars

When we can all begin again

 

Do not give up the fight

No matter how long it takes

Those who yield to darkness

The future will forsake