The Isolated Authoritarian

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS 

 

The Isolated Authoritarian

 

He hides inside his castle

Looking out on the Siberian Sea

Shaking to his very bones

Afraid of what could be

If the virus came a hunting

The lords of tyranny

 

He has no faith in doctors

There is no one he will see

He lives inside his twisted mind

In fear of what might be

If the virus comes a knocking

At his castle by the sea

 

He cannot stop his shaking

He finds it hard to breathe

His enemies are lurking everywhere

In the shadows behind the trees

Paranoia creeps inside of him

The fear of what could be

When the virus comes a hunting

At his enclave by the sea

 

Zelensky (Courage Under Fire II)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Zelensky (Courage under Fire II)

 

He is target number one

The prime object of Putin’s wrath

He refuses to turn and run

His determination is steadfast

The dictator is enraged

By now it should have passed

Anxious to turn the page

How long can Ukraine last?

 

If courage under fire

Is a measure of a one’s worth

Then Zelensky takes his place

Among the bravest on earth

 

Where is Putin in this fight?

Sitting safely in his room

Watching monitors, giving orders

Turning Ukraine into a tomb

 

Many Voices (for Ukraine)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Many Voices

 

Voices converge on a singular message

Like a symphony of instruments

Like harmonics in a song

 

We march along the boulevard

Like soldiers in formation

A hundred thousand strong

 

We are the multitudes

We are the guiding force

We have been here all along

 

We were silent in our suffering

We were silent through the years

We have found among our voices

The voices of our tears

 

We march together side by side

We march for our salvation

No longer guided by our fears

We march to claim our nation

 

The Uprising

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

The Uprising

 

In Moscow and Vladivostok

In St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad

In towns and cities across Russia

The people rise in protest

Against the invasion of Ukraine

And the dictator shows his weakness

By arresting and detaining protesters

By the hundreds and the thousands

As he does with political opponents

As he does with dissidents

As he does with journalists

As he does with anyone who speaks

Truth to power

 

The Great Dictator is afraid of dissent

He is afraid of real journalism

He is afraid of political opposition

He is afraid of free speech

He is afraid the truth will leak out

That his support is as thin as paper

That his leadership depends on fear

 

The Great Dictator is falling

He has made a critical mistake

He learned nothing from Afghanistan

He learned nothing from Iraq

He learned nothing from the Cold War

He believes he is the magician

Who can turn back time

 

He is not a fool

He is ruthless

He is egocentric

And he is wrong

True Patriots

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

True Patriots

 

While you’re deriding Joe Biden

With your childish chants

And inept comparisons

Remember that it was Biden

Who withdrew from a twenty-year war

That Bush the younger started

And two successors failed to stop

We were the invaders then

And we answered the call

We were the occupiers then

And we took to the streets

Several million strong

 

Now you serve as cheerleaders

For the despicable Russian despot

As he bombs and bulldozes

His democratic neighbor

Now as the missiles fly over Kiev

You wonder which side to take

Or whether to take sides at all

 

Look to the streets of Moscow

Where the people rise in protest

Where they risk their lives for others

For the cause of freedom

For the hope of democracy

 

Look to the people of Ukraine

Who hunker down in resistance

To the foreign invaders

 

This is the face of patriotism

These are the hearts and souls

Of true patriots