Hidden Dragon

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Hidden Dragon

 

Beneath the surface of Russian brutality

There lurks a hidden dragon

Beneath the smart bombs and guided missiles

Beneath the serial war crimes

Beneath the killing of women and children

Beneath the mounting rubble of destruction

Beneath the endless, mindless horror

There lies a Chinese beast

 

At the crossroads of international affairs

The Chinese faced a choice

To follow the road of economic prosperity

In partnership with the West or

Form an alliance with the Brute of the North

To follow the path of democratic reform or

Join the barbarian path of conquest

 

They have chosen the path of darkness

The path of gross environmental destruction

The path of waste and extortion

The path of violence and imperialism

 

They will find in Russia a treacherous ally

An alliance of temporary value

The Russians offer little economically

They have weapons, oil and little else

The Chinese depend on the West

They will suffer for their betrayal

The hidden dragon no longer hidden

Will turn on itself in self immolation

The Chinese economy will crumble

The rule of Chi will end

 

Outside Agitators

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Outside Agitators

 

There are always rabblerousers

In every cause and every movement

There is always an element of chaos

Born of anger, rage, frustration

But when the words Outside Agitators

Are used by the authorities beware

What follows is an act of brutal violence

In the name of law and order

 

Outside Agitators was used to batter

The marchers for civil rights

On the Edmund Pettis Bridge

 

Outside Agitators was used to justify

The killing of student protestors at

Kent and Jackson State

 

Outside Agitators was employed in the

Tear gas and baton attacks on students

Of the free speech movement in Berkeley

 

So when you hear the words Outside

Agitators beware: We know what follows

 

Remember Kent State

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN HISTORY

Remember Kent State

 

Back in the year 1970

(most of you don’t remember)

The National Guard in the state of Ohio

Shot four students dead

They were not violent

They were not breaking the law

They were shot dead for being there

Shot dead for caring

Shot dead for the war machine

In Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam

 

We knew they hated us

We didn’t know they’d kill us

After Kent State we knew

We’d never forget the bloodstained path

The tears of innocence

The end of an era of hope

 

More than any other event of the decade

Kent State divided the nation

Kent State burned itself into our psyche

It spawned a generation of distrust

A distrust of government and authority

Passed down the years to today

 

If you love this nation

If you love its principles and ideals

If you want America to endure

Then remember Kent State

Remember Jackson State

Remember the age of protest

Remember the disenchantment

And make sure it never happens again

The Nixon Rule

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN JUSTICE

The Nixon Rule

 

“When the president does it, that means

it is not illegal.” Richard Nixon

 

Are we prepared for what follows?

 

If the president is granted blanket immunity

for official acts even beyond his term as

president, what is to stop the next president

from purging the body politic of enemies and

adversaries alike?

 

If the next president is the man of Mar-a-Lago,

the purge will be immediate and revenge

will be ruthless.

 

The Department of Justice will be the president’s

personal hit squad, formulating a hit list and

taking all who oppose him out by all means

necessary, legal and illegal.

 

The Proud Boys could be deputized to the

dirty work of punishing demonstrators and

standing guard over voting precincts.

 

Truth Social could be declared the official

state media and all other media could be

sued out of existence by draconian bans on

slandering our dear leader.

 

There is no end to the damage our dear

leader could do to our democracy.

 

It is easy to lose democracy.

It is hard to get it back. 

 

Foundations of Law

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN JUSTICE

Foundations of Law

 

Justice is the foundation of law

If it is not the law becomes tyranny

Or rather an instrument of tyranny

Belonging to a tyrant

 

When the Supreme Court entertains

the notion of assassination for political

purpose as legal and beyond reproach

we are in grave danger

 

The attorneys for the United States are

too modest in their questioning

They should ask: if the president believes

in his heart and soul that certain justices

of the Supreme Court pose an imminent and

existential threat to American democracy

and the rule of law, could he order their

assassination as an official act without fear

of legal recourse?

 

Case closed.