Starvation in Gaza

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GAZA

 

Starvation in Gaza

 

Remember the Holocaust

Remember the concentration camps

Remember Auschwitz and Buchenwald

Remember Dachau and Langenstein

Remember the images of starvation

Skin devoid of flesh covering skeletons

Gaunt faces stripped of hope

Eyes pleading for relief

A portrait of inhumanity to man

An exploration of the lowest depths

Depravity and desperation

 

Remember the perpetrators

Remember the solemn promise

Never again, never again

 

Now look to Gaza

Familiar images on darker skin

Hopelessness and desperation

Living skeletons and bodies devoid of flesh

 

The victims become the perpetrators

And the cry becomes the accusation

The condemnation, the curse

Never again, never again

 

Protests in Kiev

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

 

Protests in Kiev

 

Divisions in the ranks

Protests in Ukraine

Rubles in the bank

All efforts are in vain

 

Putin puts his dirty hands

In places they don’t belong

A sour note inside the band

Will fracture every song

 

It’s hard to maintain unity

In the face of constant pressure

But unity is what we need

With faith in equal measure

 

Russian hands are everywhere

Beware the infiltrators

Pretending that they really care

When all along they’re traitors

 

Do not forget democracy

Without it we are lost

We can’t afford hypocrisy

One man is not the boss

 

Gringo Go Home!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IMMIGRATION

 

Gringo Go Home

 

Up north they want the border closed

Down south they’re beginning to see

Both sides want the change to slow

They’re not sure what to plead

 

The northerners are moving in

The cost of housing on the rise

The locals lose, the landlords win

When they cater to the gentrified

 

The workers cannot pay the rent

They being pushed aside

Their patience is being spent

Not much longer will they ride

 

It’s happening across the board

On both sides of the border

It strikes on a rebellious chord

And triggers law and order

 

The people rise up everywhere

Their anger springs from fear

You don’t want our workers there?

We don’t want your money here!

 

(Massive protests in Mexico City)

 

Burn Baby Burn

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

Burn Baby Burn

 

Drill baby drill, burn baby burn

The US blames Canada

The climate takes a turn

Smoke comes down from northern skies

The ancient timber burning

Old growth brush like tinder fries

There ain’t no sense in learning

No one wants to hear the facts

The temperature is rising

The train is going off the tracks

There ain’t no compromising

 

It’s burn baby burn, drill baby drill

We’ve put the wheels in motion

Our time is nearly standing still

With stubborn blind devotion

The money men have got it all

The rest of us don’t matter

We failed to answer every call

Fat cats are getting fatter

Through it all we’re burning more

It’s rotten to the core

 

It’s burn baby burn

When will we ever learn?

And it’s drill baby drill

We haven’t got the will

 

Security

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: PEACE

 

Security

 

Security cannot be achieved through firearms

Security cannot be achieved by force

Though desired by all and everywhere

Security is a matter of course

 

We are not made safe by walls and fences

We are not made safe by arms

If we wish to erect our best defenses

We must honor the saying: Do no harm

 

No one wants to live danger

Yet danger lives most everywhere

It might be a friend or an unknown stranger

It may glance at you or stare

 

You will know it when it takes its place

You will know it when it acts

When it takes you in its cold embrace

Your whole world will turn to black

 

Love your neighbor as you love yourself

Be as fair and honest as you know how

Every human should be treated well

More than ever we need it now