The Founders

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Founders (of the Republic)

 

The founders stood up

When their lives were at stake

These Republicans today

Would proclaim it a fake

They signed the declaration

Knowing well what it meant

A democratic nation

An immortal document

 

I stand with Jefferson

I stand with Tom Paine

Their fight for democracy

Would not be in vain

 

The people stood with them

Against an army in red

The greatest force in the world

Must have filled them with dread

But they fought long and hard

They gave it their all

To ensure that the republic

Would not stumble and fall

 

I stand with Ben Franklin

I stand with Tom Paine

Their fight for the republic

Would not be in vain

 

Now democracy is threatened

The republic could fall

When the alarm is sounded

Who will answer the call?

We don’t need your guns

But we do need your votes

We need the people to know

We’re in the same boat

 

I stand with George Washington

I stand with Tom Paine

Our fight for democracy

Must not be in vain

Heartless (Ode to Putin)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

 

Heartless

 

The man who does not blink an eye

Inflicting pain upon another

The woman who breaks others’ hearts

She has never found her own

The lonely child without a conscience

Who will never understand

The one who takes pleasure in others’ misfortune

The doctor who experiments upon the helpless

The trigger man for the mob

The singer who strikes every note

But never sheds a tear

The assassin who hits his mark from

A thousand paces

The general who orders his soldiers into

A hopeless battle

The commander who goes to war

To satisfy his ego

 

There are doubtless those who have no heart

The eternal question is:

Were they born heartless or

Did they lose it somewhere along the way?

We must hope it is the latter

For then they might find it again

But you cannot find what has never been

Dust Bowl Emigre

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN HISTORY

Dust Bowl Émigré

 

This rich and fertile valley

Was made on the backs of émigré

Not from somewhere below the border

Nor from Ireland or Eastern Europe

Not from Canada or Germany

Nor Australia or the Far East

The ones who answered the call

To work the orchards and fields

To till the soil and work the land

To pick the peaches, oranges and nuts

To bring the crops to market

Were the poor white folks of Oklahoma

The tenant farmer of the Dust Bowl

As hard a worker who ever lived

They came by hard luck highways

Their belongings packed on old cars

That broke down along the way

 

When they overcame all hardships

And finally arrived in the Golden State

They were called disgraceful names

Okies and Arkies and dirt farmers

Who came to take our good jobs

To steal our women and commit mayhem

To ruin the state the gold diggers built

But they didn’t take our good jobs

They took what others wouldn’t do

They didn’t steal our women

They didn’t crimes or mayhem

Any more than anyone else did

They were good hard-working people

Poor as dirt but grim determined

They had no place else to go

They became the good citizens

Of the great central valley

Along with others of darker skin

Also good hard-working people

Together they built the foundations

Of the great state of Golden Gate

 

Ironic ain’t it? that the very same people

Who were derided and abused yesterday

Deride and abuse others today

The Russian Party of America

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Russian Party (RPA)

 

The Russian Party of America

Is on the front line in the war

Putin is the high commander

Trump is holding the door

 

The Speaker of the House

Is hardly worth his weight

He’s lost all of his authority

To control his party’s fate

 

The party of Ronald Reagan

Would not recognize itself

Instead of trust but verify

They’ll send us straight to hell

 

Soon the leader of our nation

Could owe allegiance to another

Like the child of another mother

We would be Putin’s little brother

 

In a world that’s lost its balance

When on balance we depend

We risk losing our democracy

From which we’ll never make amends

 

Serving Putin

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Serving Putin

 

We are not fooled

You are not the party of peace

You have always found money

To finance your wars of choice

You’ve even cooked the books

To hide your military spending

You have not suddenly found a conscience

You have not suddenly seen the light

You have not tired of endless wars

You’ve not grown weary of the fight

 

Your party has a new master now

He has transformed you into fools

You bow before his majesty

You cater to his rules

If he says jump you say how high?

You’ve become his lowly tools

 

But your master has a master too

His name is Vladimir

When he cries you all shed a tear

He tells you when and what to do

 

He’s losing on the battlefield

He is losing his great war

His last best chance at triumph is

To convince us it’s not worth fighting for

 

He has his American allies

Just like the Nazis did

When Trump tells us we can’t win

He’s bidding Putin’s bid