Circles

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Circles

 

And so it begins…

The return to the moon

The conquest of space

The division of the world

The invasion of independent states

The rise of dictatorship

The decline of democracy

The reckless exploitation of resources

 

How soon we forget…

All the lessons once learned

All the promises to posterity

All the speeches and memorials

All the funerals and tears

The book burning and propaganda

The fictionalization of history

The embrace of popular mythology

 

Was it only a dream?

Gone with the mist of morning?

Vanished with the stars of Hollywood?

A story once told by old men and

Cryptic women about how things were

In a time before time?

 

Wash, rinse, repeat

All things old are new again

 

Nika Sings

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Nika Sings

 

She was only seventeen

A world yet to explore

Killed by Iranian agents

Who wanted to even the score

 

The price to pay for protest

In Iran can be severe

To the agents she was a threat

To her family she was dear

 

Nika Shakarami sang

In her shy but courageous way

So they decided to silence her

Yet her voice is heard today

 

When will these leaders learn

You cannot lead by brute force

Instead of creating martyrs

You should plot a different course

 

War and Peace

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

War and Peace

 

A soldier’s duty is survival

When he marches off to war

She is not to ask questions

What are we fighting for?

 

A soldier is but a pawn

She does what she is told

He is not to follow instincts

She is never to be bold

 

When a soldier becomes a hero

It is often to save face

The commander gave an order

The wrong time or place

 

All soldiers are courageous

Just to do what they must do

Just to be where they must be

Is an act of courage too

 

It is better to be raised in peace

Than to be praised in war

 

Conscripts and Mercenaries

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

Conscripts and Mercenaries

 

When Putin calls you to war

Consider all your choices

Hear the righteous people roar

Listen closely to their voices

If you simply can’t abide

Join the other side

 

If they make you carry arms

Do your duty well

Swear to do no harm

Or spend your time in jail

If you simply can’t abide

Join the other side

 

Fight to free Ukraine

Fight to free your mind

This cursed war for the insane

Has caught you in a bind

If you simply can’t abide

Take your family and hide

Or let your conscience

Be your guide

Join the other side

The Saboteur

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

Saboteur

 

The beast of the great white north

Opens a new front in the war on democracy

Sabotaging gas lines in the Black Sea

Supplying Europe with energy

 

Meantime in the Czech Republic

Putin finances the opposition party

Sponsors protests in the streets

In Italy he throws a party for Mussolini

Scoring a victory for fascists and

Putin sympathizers everywhere

Though they pretend to oppose

The war in Ukraine (for now)

 

He believes he can defeat democracy

With corruption and propaganda

The weakest among us que up

To take his blood-for-oil money

To utilize his machine

 

Hold the line in Bohemia

Remember your history

The Velvet Revolution

Remember Dubcek and Havel

Russian tanks on the streets of Prague

Remember the occupation

A broken nation in defeat

 

Hold the line in Milan

Remember your history

How you lost your righteous way

How you followed Mussolini

How it ended in disgrace

 

Hold the line in eastern Ukraine

Remember occupied France

The shame of those who submitted

The honor of those who made a stance

 

The great aggressor is losing ground

His debt is mounting every day

His cause is evil and corrupt

And for his crimes he will pay