Leader of the Free World

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

Failure to fund the war in Ukraine

A war of bold aggression

A struggle for independence

A war Russia started but we sustained

Threatens to topple the Free World Order

 

Since the end of the second World War

We have led the way

We have made tragic mistakes

The war in Vietnam

The Contras in Nicaragua

Chile’s Augusto Pinochet

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

We have never turned our backs

We have never lost our purpose

We have lost our way but not our cause

 

Now we are about to abandon our role

As the leader of the Free World

Now we are about to abdicate

By failing to honor our sacred obligation

We are betrayed by a turncoat faction

More loyal to a former president

Than to the principles of democracy

 

The fate of Ukraine is in our hands

We must now call on Europe to lead

We must now yield our leadership

Will Europe rise to the challenge?

Will her support be sufficient?

We cannot know

Will we awaken in time to save Ukraine?

We can only hope

If we fail in this cause

We become a lesser nation

But Ukraine becomes no nation at all

 

The Lost Souls

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

The lost souls of Haiti

Drift from decade to decade

The ghosts of oppression haunt them

The lords of chaos and anarchy

Envelop and imprison them

There is no order in Haiti

There is no government in Haiti

There is no sovereign nation

There is no democratic tradition

There is no civil society

There are no institutions of democracy

There is only force

There is only violence and bloodshed

There are only the lost souls

Wandering the ragged streets

Wandering the countryside

Hiding in their makeshift homes

Searching through the wastelands

For anything to consume

 

Shed no tears for Haiti

She is lost to us

She is beyond salvation

And yet we share this burden

And yet we share the blame

For we have long neglected her

We have always turned away

We must turn to her again

We must offer her our hand

We must find her virtue once again

We must help her find a home

GOP to Ukraine: Drop Dead!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

GOP to Ukraine: Drop Dead!

 

In the battle of David and Goliath

Today’s GOP would take the giant

In the contest of virtue versus sin

For sin the party would go all in

 

In the war of Russia against Ukraine

The GOP has made it plain

Vladimir Putin is their true friend

They will stand with him to the end

 

They don’t care about who’s right or wrong

They’ll let the Donald sing their song

They don’t care about who’s wrong or right

The Donald tells them who to fight

 

Putin is salivating with anticipation

The day Ukraine falls as a nation

They couldn’t win on the battlefield

But Vlad and Donald cut a deal

 

The Donald gets his Moscow tower

While Vlad expands his base of power

Ten years forward they’ll tear it down

And burn his legacy to the ground

 

Viva Mexico!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

Viva Mexico!

 

While the world stumbles on

Overcoming the great pandemic

Facing down the great warming

Mexico moves forward

The Supreme Court legalizes abortion

And the next president of Mexico

Will very likely be a woman

 

This is how a democracy should work

Expanding human rights

Embracing the equality of women

Strengthening the institutions of democracy

Mobilizing forces to fight back against

Corruption and organized crime

The cartels have run the show far too long

It is time for a new nation to emerge

From the vast wasteland of the drug trade

 

Viva Mexico!

Union Man

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LABOR

Union Man

 

There are those who talk

And there are those who do

The ones who walk the walk

Are the ones in union blue

 

If you want fair wages

With a sound retirement plan

If you want good health insurance

You will need a helping hand

The time you knew would come is here

You’ve got to make a stand

Tell everyone you know

You are a union man

 

The bosses will tell you anything

That you want to hear

They will promise you a castle

Over a stout pint of beer

But when it comes to doing

They don’t have a plan

You’ll be better off standing

With the union man

 

Cause there are those who talk

And there are those who do

And those who walk the walk

Are wearing union blue