Yulia Navalnaya

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

Yulia Navalnaya

 

She is the widow of a hero

She is the widow of a martyr

She has sacrificed enough

We can ask of her no more

Yet she steps forward

 

She was his heart and soul

She gave to him her strength

She gave her love unselfishly

Asking little in return

His death should be an end

She is entitled to begin again

Yet she rises

 

She knows the danger

She knows as well as anyone

They killed her husband for speaking out

They’ve killed others for less

They kill journalists and dissidents

They imprison the oppressed

Yet she speaks out

 

We should all possess her courage

But we do not

We should all stand up for justice

But we do not

We should all feel her agony

Her passion and her rage

But we do not

 

If she must stand alone she would

But she will not

Boots on the Ground

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

Boots on the Ground

 

Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan

They did not ask us to lend a hand

We fought our wars on their land

We hoped they’d understand

 

Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan

We put our boots on their ground

We asked them not to let us down

When we unleashed the hounds

 

Iraq is not Ukraine

The differences are plain

Like sunshine and forever rain

They do not want our soldiers

We do not want their grain

 

Ukraine is not Afghanistan

Though they share a common thread

The Russians once invaded them

An act they came to dread

An act the world condemned

 

Ukraine is not Vietnam

They do not want our troops

They don’t want our boots on loan

They only want their country

They want to defend their own

 

Share My Rage

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RUSSIA

Share My Rage (for Yulia)

 

We listen to her passion

Her sorrow and her rage

Her husband has been murdered

Upon the global stage

She brings a simple message

From the fullness of her heart

Do not forget his sacrifice

Do not forget his cause

He would not want our sympathy

He would not want applause

He would want us to remember him

And why he gave his life

To give his country freedom

To give his people basic rights

The Border

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IMMIGRATION

The Border

 

They had a chance to defend the border

They chose a spectacle instead

They impeached a civil servant

Turning justice on its head

 

They take their people for fools

Who believe anything they’re told

They think obstinance will rule

But their act is getting old

 

They did nothing for the border

Just to give their boss a chance

They push for chaos and disorder

Every time they take a stance

 

This is the way they’ll govern

They will not do anything

When an election rolls around

They’ll do a dance and sing

 

We hate them just like you do

Nothing else really matters

The rich are getting richer

Fat cats are getting fatter

 

The Wrath of Woman

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Forced Pregnancy (The Wrath)

 

Forced pregnancy and forbidden travel

A woman will have no choice

Rape, incest, the life of the mother

Women will have no voice

 

Is this the vision that you’re offering?

A subversion of women’s rights

Hunker down and hold on tight

You’re in for the fight of your life

 

Have you seen the damage you have done?

Have you felt the human suffering?

This is a battle that will be won

The crowd will roar and singers sing

 

You’ve challenged women as never before

They will rise to take you down

You have wandered to a distant shore

You are standing on shaky ground

 

If you knew the scope of what you’re doing

You would take another path

For none of you has ever known

The power of a woman’s wrath