Saturday, November 05, 2022

Political Violence

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POEMICS


Political Violence

 

When you have no principles

When winning is the only thing

When honor is a character flaw

When fairness is for losers

Violence is a step away

Riots on the street

Fire on the skyline

Assassins on a dare

When people die will you care?

 

When leaders call for action

From an armed and angry mob

When the other side is demonized

Charged with treachery and fraud

When guns are peddled freely

When your cause belongs to God

When your enemy lies bleeding

And people stop to stare

When the blood flows will you care?

 

Hide your head in shame

Hate baiters one and all

When there’s no one else to blame

Line em up against the wall

When the bloodshed comes to you

When your loved ones start to fall

Will you have a thought to share?

When people die will you care?

 

Thursday, November 03, 2022

A Victory of Light

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS


A Victory of Light (Diwali)

 

The war between light and darkness

Is a never-ending toil

A victory of light in India

Springs forth on British soil

 

Yet victory may be short-lived

If he makes copper out of gold

As the darkness lies in waiting

The cry Austerity! grows old

 

The son of India is proud

Though his time may not be long

He’s secured his place in history

For that alone he may stand strong

 

Let there be light! the leader cries

Hold the darkness in its place

Though the people may not profit

His ascension we embrace

 

(Rishi Sunak is named British PM)

Wednesday, November 02, 2022

Viva Lula!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY


Viva Lula!

 

Bolsonaro goes down to defeat

With but a whimper in protest

The Brazilian buffoon is done

The great destroyer of the Amazon

Enemy of the earth

Adversary of democracy

Gone the way of Donald and Boris

A horrible footnote in history

The errors that humans make

In anger and in desperation

 

Hope rises from the ashes

The wrongful conviction of a leader

A man of the people

A protector of the Amazon

Defender of democracy

Lula returns to his rightful place

President of a proud nation

 

Viva Lula!

Viva Brazil!

 

Monday, October 31, 2022

The Dream

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS


The Dream

 

Everyone has a job

A job that suits their interest and ability

A job that fulfills a social need

while enhancing personal worth

 

No one is without food, shelter and

drinkable water

 

No one earns less than a living wage

One that provides for self and family

 

Everyone is able to pursue their dream

Whether art or journalism, social work,

architecture or athletic endeavor

though they may stumble and fall

though they may fail in the eyes of others

Let them succeed in trying

 

Everyone receives the help they need

Be it counseling or medical care

Be it mentoring or sympathy

Be it financial or physical assistance

 

Everyone has a choice to be in the

company of like-minded others

or alone in comfort without judgement

 

Everyone is free to become who they

want to be so long as it does not infringe

on the wants and needs of others

 

Everyone has a right to free and fair

adjudication of differences

 

Everyone has a right to live and die

as they please within the limits of possibility

 

They tell me it is impossible

That humans will always want more

than their fellows

That humans demand power and money

beyond all want and need

That we will never abandon greed

But I say there is nothing we can dream

that we cannot bring to being

 

(for John Lennon: Imagine)

 

Sunday, October 30, 2022

A Human Stampede (Seoul)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS


A Human Stampede

 

A stampede of cattle or bison

We can almost understand

Such animals act in concert

One following another

In panic and horror

 

A stampede of humans

Should never happen

 

A mindless mass moving as one

Spurred by a moment of terror

The terror creeps inside the mind

Replacing faculties of critical thought

Supplanting common sense

Generating a wave of motion

Without direction or guidance

Only an instinct to escape

By any means at all costs

 

In Seoul the human stampede

Cost over a hundred fifty lives

Leaving behind a trail of tears

An absence in so many families

A void in so many communities

For generations to come

 

The tragedy reminds us what happens

When the mind becomes the masses

When fear and terror rules the mob

When the one surrenders to the many

 

We are many on a small fragile planet

We must learn to live together

Without sacrificing ourselves

Without losing our individual souls

 

We mourn for the people of Seoul

Their sorrow is our sorrow

Our tears are joined to theirs

Today we are all Koreans

One planet, one destiny

Many parts, one whole