The Storming of the People's House

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

Storming of the People’s House

 

The people of Paris stormed the Bastille

14 July 1789 to overthrow a despotic

government. A monarchy, an aristocracy,

hereditary succession, a royal king.

 

In Washington the people stormed congress

6 January 2021 to overthrow an elected

president, to install a monarchy, hereditary

succession, an aristocratic king. 

 

The storming of the Bastille toppled the

king, introduced the guillotine and begat

the Reign of Terror, a river of blood that

swallowed its leader: Maximilien

Robespierre.

 

The storming of the people’s house fell

short of its goal, dozens of instigators

captured and jailed while its leader went

free, opening the door to a period of

uncertainty and the promise of revenge.

 

The storming of the Bastille was a turning

point in history; one by one the monarchs

fell, replaced by elected governments,

representative democracies that shined

from Europe to across the sea. 

 

The storming of the people’s house is an

unfinished story: a defense of democracy

or its tragic fall? A period of unrest or a

reign of terror? For better or for worse,

let the people decide. 

 

Tears of a Tyrant

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: PUTIN

Tears of a Tyrant

 

Vlad is not the actor

He believes himself to be

When he cries his tyrant tears

The honest truth is plain to see

 

He is a brutal madman

Who started a war of choice

Do not believe his feigned sorrow

That subtle quiver in his voice

 

Ukraine has an innate right

To strike back against the invader

If Vlad were Mother Russia

All decent folks would hate her

 

Stop what you are doing

The people know and understand

The show that you are putting on

Is the act of a desperate man

 

2024

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

2024

 

This is the year we get to choose

Between the genuine and fake news

 

This is the year you’ll never know

Who’s on the bench and who’s in the show

 

This is the year we bury the past

And find out how long the world can last

 

This is the year the planet will burn

Unless the industrialized nations learn

 

This is the year we turn it around

And find ourselves on higher ground

 

This is the year of greater knowledge

When all our kids advance to college

 

This is the year the top of the ladder

Tips and falls with a helluva splatter

 

This is the year it all goes down

We build our walls to protect our town

 

This is the year we’ll all remember

From January to late December

 

The Great China Freeze

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

The Great China Freeze

 

They’re burning coal in China

To survive the winter freeze

They are poisoning the very air

That their people must breathe

It seems the leaders do not care

It is something they believe

If a million people die today

For the benefit of the state

Mark a path and show the way

They will call it the way of fate

 

But the world must turn this path around

We must find a better road

A path that is reachable and sound

That seeks to lighten every load

 

We can’t continue fighting wars

We know where that road leads

A rush to shut disaster’s doors

We all suffer, we all bleed

 

Let’s work together for a change

That works for all our nations

We know it seems a little strange

But its promise is salvation

 

Hypocrisy: Gaza & Ukraine

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Hypocrisy: Gaza & Ukraine

 

If you condemn the Israelis

For their relentless attack on

Schools and hospitals in Gaza

On the mass destruction

On the many civilians slain

But fall silent on the bombing

By the Russians in Ukraine

Hypocrisy

 

If your tears flow and your anger rages

At the plight of the Palestinians

After months of this campaign

But after years of aggression

In the battle for Ukraine

All your anger is spent

All you outrage is restrained

Hypocrisy

 

If you fail to acknowledge

That Hamas landed the first blow

In an act so boldly evil

The reaction was foreknown

Yet you allow for Putin’s actions

With that’s the way the river flows

Hypocrisy

 

End the war in Gaza

Support Ukraine

Stop Netanyahu

End Putin’s reign