Saturday, August 20, 2022

Yes We Can

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY


Yes We Can

 

The former leader is a blatant criminal

His future candidacy must be banned

But you say we can’t do that

Not to a former president

Not to the chosen man

Say it together: Yes we can

 

They planned and staged an insurrection

He was the leader of the band

But you say it doesn’t matter

You cannot prosecute the man

Say it loud and say it clear:

Yes we can

 

He’ll do it again if he gets away with it

It’s the only thing he understands

But you say we can’t do that

After all he was the man

Say it loud and say it louder:

Yes we can

 

He stashed away damning evidence

Fraud and deception is his brand

But you can’t imprison a former president

You can’t do that to the man

Say it again with conviction:

Yes we can

 

Thursday, August 18, 2022

Belfast

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: HISTORY


Belfast

 

Belfast in the time of the troubles

A city torn by religious divide

Catholics uprooted from their homes

For the crime of being on the other side

‘twas a time of great upheaval

‘twas a time of shameful pride

Not a place to raise a child

Explosions of needless violence

Entire neighborhoods run wild

Yet people danced and sang and played

As if they knew their chosen fate

They went on their merry way

Until the gods let down the weight

And scattered them both near and far

Excepting those who chose to stay

To suffer all the days of sorrow

Till the troubles went away

 

And here’s to old Fitzgerald

And here’s to young O’Shea

Let us bow our heads and pray

They did not die in vain

 

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Ode to Rushdie

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POEMICS

 

Ode to Rushdie

 

His weapons are words

His words are weapons so powerful

They strike fear and loathing

In the hearts of religious zealots

 

Words concepts ideas ideology

Rushdie engages free speech

He is a warrior of words

He is a soldier of intellect

 

He knows the dangers of his words

He has lived with that danger

For many long years

A holy man called for his death

For the crime of offensive words

 

He answered in the only way he could

With words written and spoken

He did not back down

He refused to be silenced

He pushed forward as he always had

As he always will

As long as he is able

 

Now a madman in religious guise

Attacks him viciously

Drawing his blood

Seeking to end his life

 

We can promise the assassin he failed

For Rushdie’s words only acquire

Greater strength and endurance

With this barbaric assault

 

You cannot defeat words with violence

You cannot kill ideas with bloodshed

You may think that you have won

But you have lost

And you will lose again

As long as you pit rage against reason

You will always lose

 


Monday, August 15, 2022

Untouchables

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS


Untouchables

 

They exist in the shadows of society

Beyond our reach and touch

Are they human?

Are they real?

Do they carry some disease?

We turn our eyes to the distance

We do not breathe the same air

We are afraid to walk with them

Afraid to share their thoughts

Afraid to take them in

Are they not human?

Are they not real?

Is it the color of their skin?

Is it the way they live?

Is it their poverty?

Is it the way it’s always been?

No one should live in the shadows

No one should be beyond reach

No one should be untouchable

For we are all human

We all breathe the same air

We all bleed the same blood

We all have children for whom we care

 

Sunday, August 14, 2022

Insoluble

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POEMICS


Insoluble

 

There are questions we can never answer

Not in a thousand years of contemplation

There are questions that are unanswerable

Like the emergence of human consciousness

Like the eventual decline of civilizations

Like the disappearance of life on earth

Like the random nature of good fortune

Or the seeming cruelty of fate

 

There are things we will never understand

Despite the determined efforts of science

Despite the dedication of brilliant minds

Despite the prayers of the fervent faithful

Despite the dreams of countless dreamers

Despite spectacular leaps in technology

Over the course of infinite time

 

This is why I cannot begin to comprehend

Why some are so sure of their righteousness

That they would accuse a woman of murder

For choosing to end the product of rape

And incest by cleansing it from her body