Longing for the Past

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Longing for the Past

 

We feel uneasy with the world we see

Though we accept that all things change

In the past we controlled our destiny

Now everything seems so strange

 

I remember well the corner store

Owned by a local mom and pop

They used to greet you by the door

We used to know the local cop

There are no locals anymore

We don’t purchase local crops

We used to gather rich and poor

Before the good times stopped

 

Now all is owned by corporations

We’re a corporation nation

The movie house the restaurants

The stops on our vacation

 

Oh how we long for yesteryear

When our neighbors were our friends

We look back now and shed a tear

For we thought it would never end

 

The Charade

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POEMICS

The Charade

 

It’s clear they just don’t care

What’s right or just or fair

They’ll take the money and run

Aw gee has it been fun?

They stopped democracy just in time

Their charade was most sublime

They had the old man fooled

They used him as their tool

To ensure the party on the other side

Sealed the electorate’s great divide

Say goodbye to the voting rights bill

Let’s forget about Emmett Till

Come November Republicans rise

As the hope of a nation dies

Democracy enters its final days

As the rogue senators have their way

Manchin and Sinema are their names

Senate obstruction is their game

Like a charm it worked so well

Have a party and ring the bell

No longer should we have any doubt

It is time past time to kick them out

Let them wear the mark of traitors

Sayonara see you later

 

[Note: Senators Manchin and Sinema

block Voting Rights by upholding

the filibuster.]

 

 

Outliers

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Outliers

 

Among the outliers are poets and artists

Those who go against the tide

Diviners of original constructs

For whom the common cannot abide

We take the artist for a lover

We take another for our bride

For when it comes to our survival

Cold calculus must decide

 

There’s nothing wrong with being different

The ones who choose to not belong

The ones who hear a different beat

The ones who sing a different song

But when it comes to life and death

We had better not be wrong

 

For the doctor and the artist

In this world there is a place

The one sustains the human spirit

The other saves the human race

 

Relativity

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Relativity

 

One man nurtures a contented smile

While the world surrounding falls

Another walks a lonely mile

As he answers every call

 

A woman take great pleasure in writing

Though praise is often wanting

Another gathers praise like lightning

Though she finds the journey daunting

 

One man comes alive in the desert

Another falls in love with the sea

The very same air that chokes one man

Enables another to breathe

 

A woman is called to dance and sing

Another is called to teach

What one considers a sacred union

Another considers a breach

 

It all depends on how you see it

What makes the river run

What you might think a good beginning

Is the time another is done

 

Seditious Conspiracy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Seditious Conspiracy

 

As plain as the nose on your face

The simple truth for all to see

Those who plotted the insurrection

Committed seditious conspiracy

 

They thought they’d go down as heroes

The patriots who won the day

Reversing a presidential election

And plotting their getaway

 

But their images were duly recorded

Engaged in all manner of crimes

Attacking cops with improvised weapons

Putting our government in a bind

 

You thought you were doing his bidding

We all agree that much is true

But when it comes to paying the piper

The hammer will drop on you

 

What is a fitting punishment

For conspiring to commit sedition?

We should grant you a blanket pardon

With one fundamental condition:

 

Leave this country immediately

For any other that will take you in

If there is no country that wants you

Run away with your next of kin

 

(Eleven members of the Oath Keepers

are indicted for Seditious Conspiracy)