New Year

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

New Year

 

On the other side of the world

The war continues unabated

Putin’s horrors are unfurled

As if it had been fated

 

We would change it if we could

We would bring it to an end

We would lock away the madman

And all his brutal friends

 

What more can we do but let

Our government know we care?

Send our aide and best wishes

Make it easier to bear

 

Make the oligarchs pay the cost

For Putin’s war of cruel attrition

Let him know his cause is lost

Cut off his ammunition

 

In our part of the world

The wars are only metaphors

The battle for democracy

A trail of horrid storms

 

We know life could be harder

We know it could be worse

Our storms are free of missiles

We still think of ourselves first

 

But we swear we’ll not forget

The many hardships you endure

This world is ever smaller

Of that we can be sure

 

As we say goodbye to twenty-two

And welcome twenty-three

We hope for better days ahead

Though what will be will be

 

(Happy New Year to all!)

The Martyr

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

The Martyr (Mohsen Shekari)

 

A child grows up wanting to be

A firefighter, a police officer, a doctor

A lawyer, a cowboy, a chief

 

No one grows up wanting to be a martyr

No one aspires to be stoned

by the morality police

No one wants to be remembered

for their sacrifice

 

But we do want to be heroes

We do want to be remembered for

standing strong on principle

We do want our names to be passed on

to future generations

We do want to be known for the

courage of our convictions

 

Let the name of Mohsen Shekari be

etched in the stone of martyrdom

alongside Mahsa Amini

 

Let their courage and conviction be

Known throughout Iran and across

the world to the end of time

 

He did not wish to be martyred

yet his martyrdom speaks of honor

and his honor lives on

 

The Crazy

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

The Crazy (Germany and Peru)

 

A mad movement in Berlin

An attempt to overthrow the Bundestag

To replace it with a second Reich

(one short of Adolph Hitler)

Extremists of the right unite

To take their place in history

As proof positive beyond belief

There is no place on earth

Above or beyond the crazy

 

The Q is the cue to rally the crew

Against the powers that be

But there is no power on earth

That can topple democracy

 

The president of Peru decides

To banish the Peruvian congress

The military commander resigns

Not so fast says congress

We are the people’s house

We stand for basic liberty

Peru will choose the people

This crazy will not be

 

The Q is the cue to rally the crew

Against the powers that be

But there is no power on earth

That can topple democracy

 

The Children

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

The Children

 

The child who grows up

In this world of modern madness

Must be of special countenance

Of stubborn strength and endurance

Of ingenious imagination

Of talents beyond our comprehension

Of skills as yet untapped

 

For their world will challenge them

As we were never challenged in ours

 

In their hands we leave the abolition of war

In their hands the health of the planet

In their hands the survival of the species

In their hands the balance of global power

In their hands the scourge of poverty

In their hands the strength of democracy

 

Previous generations have tackled

Problems of critical importance

But none rise to the magnitude of those

Confronting this generation

 

Previous generations have embraced the

Challenge of going to the moon

Crossing oceans to uncover new continents

Finding peace in a world at war

Toppling dictators and hereditary monarchs

Conquering disease and advancing medicine

Building monuments of engineering

Mastering miraculous technologies

 

None of these challenges

However great and earth changing

Compares to what the future holds

For the children of today

 

A Christmas Dream

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

A Christmas Dream

 

In the hours of the deepest night

I awaken to a dream

I see a world of quiet comfort

Not a soul in desperate need

No homeless poor or hungry

A land of honey milk and mead

The people smile and welcome me

With wishes warm and sweet

Joyful music fills the air

The people on the streets

Are taken into firesides

With warm and tasty treats

No one yells and no one screams

There is no anger here

There is only gentle kindness

Filled with laughter and good cheer

 

There are people of all shapes

From round to pencil thin

There are people of all sizes

Like there have always been

There are people of every color

And every style of dress

They have a look of happiness

As if they’ve all been blessed

 

Not one of us feels lesser than

In this place we all are free

We feel a sense of wonder

We move with grace and ease

All our sorrows cast asunder

There is no sickness or disease

Contentment courses through the air

I marvel at this world of peace

Dream it if you dare

Dream it if you please