Nine Days of Hell

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Nine Days of Hell (Haiti)

 

In a lawless society

Where there is no government

Where the only law is power

And power has no authority

An explosion of chaos is inevitable

 

In a society where need exceeds want

And poverty is greater than pride

Where those who want to survive

Are forced to choose or hide

An explosion of violence is inevitable

 

In a society where guns are ubiquitous

And gardens do not exist

Where schools and libraries are memories

An explosion of gunfire is inevitable

 

Haiti is once again in the news

And it is not good

It has never been good

When Haiti is in the news

An epic tragedy is unfolding

A terrifying earthquake

A military coup

A tsunami of tears

 

This time the tragedy is human

This time the explosion is gunfire

At the hands of warring tribes

After nine days of hell

Nine days of violence

Nine days of bloodshed

The world notices

And mourns

 

Orban of Hungary

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

Orban of Hungary

 

The face of the new Nazi

Belongs to Viktor Orban

The strongman of Hungary

The Don without pretense

The uncensored racist extremist

Whose policies stop just short of

Racial and cultural genocide

 

The world’s leading proponent of

The Great Replacement Theory

Which is not a theory at all

But a golden tenet of Naziism

The creed of the Birch Society

The cry of the Klan

 

The great Viktor Orban

Europe’s longest running leader

Who skims money from the Union

Like a dirty bottom feeder

But the Trumpers really love him

They lavish him with praise

On the road to kleptocracy

Viktor Orban shows the way

 

Fire, Wind & Rain

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE

Fire, Wind & Rain

 

Horrendous fire, wind and rain

The prophecies unfold

A land of darkness filled with pain

The feeble and the old

Run for cover and take heed

There are more omens

Than we can read

The beggar and the blind man

Foresee a time of wanton need

 

Fire followed by torrential rain

A stripping of the land

This page of history is stained

When we failed to take a stand

When all was well and

There was time

To save the lot of man

 

We will rise again to claim a place

Upon the living earth

The survivors will give warning

Of the burdens we once faced

And our failure to live up to it

For whatever it is worth

 

Secret Service Betrayal

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Secret Service Betrayal

 

The people who protect the president today

Are those who betrayed him yesterday

 

To serve and protect is just a slogan

A shallow piece of folklore

The agents sworn to the constitution

Became the president’s whores

 

You might think that’s a little harsh

You might think it’s a little strong

Take account of all the facts *

You will find you’re entirely wrong

 

They declared by their own actions

They are enemies of the state

If we leave security in their hands

We will inherit a bitter fate

 

We should retire every one of them

Let them know what they have done

But they have failed at insurrection

(for now) democracy has won

 

* Secret Service purges all January

6^th Insurrection emails

 

Redemption

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: NATIVE JUSTICE

Redemption (versus Reparations)

 

Reparations are for the flesh

Redemption is for the soul

Reparations ease our memories

They do not make us whole

 

When those who have abused us

Offer money for our pain

It fails to give us comfort

A glass of water for the rain

 

But when we are redeemed

We are obliged to forgive

The abuser feels our suffering

Another life is lived

 

So offer your reparations

If your guilt you wish to ease

But if you seek redemption

Let your conscience set you free

 

(for all indigenous people)

 

The Rights of Women

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Rights of Women

 

Women struggled for the right to vote

Women fought for the right to speak

Women won the right to choose

Who and when they marry

Women won the right to divorce

Women fought for the right to work

Outside the home without consent

Women earned the right to equal treatment

Under the law but not to equal wages

Women demand the right to love

And live with whom they choose

Women have won the right to achieve

In all fields of endeavor

But women lost the right to end

An unwanted pregnancy

Women had won that right but lost it

It was taken from them by

A court of supreme injustice

The question now becomes:

If the court can take this right today

What rights will it take tomorrow?

If the court claims jurisdiction

Over a woman’s body

Where then does it end?

What rights are beyond its reach?