It Shouldn't Matter

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ICE

 

It Shouldn’t Matter

 

It shouldn’t matter that she was a mother

But it does

It shouldn’t matter that she was beloved

But it does

It shouldn’t matter that she was white

But it does

It shouldn’t matter that she was a citizen

But it does

It shouldn’t matter that she was a poet

But it does

It shouldn’t matter that she was trying

to do the right thing

But it does

 

She was a human being

That’s all that matters

She was trying to live a decent life

That’s all that matters

She stood in the way of injustice

That’s all that matters

She didn’t deserve to be shot down

Like a rabid dog

That too matters

She had a name: Renee Nicole Good

That matters

She had children

That matters

Her killing brings a torrent of tears

It shouldn’t matter but it does

 

 

ICE Cold Killer

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN JUSTICE

 

ICE Cold Killer

 

An alleged officer of the law

Drew his gun and killed her dead

The video footage may be raw

But it fill all decent folks with dread

 

They closed ranks and tried to blame her

For simply wanting to survive

As time goes on they’ll try to shame her

But someone filmed it live

 

Now we’re recalling George Floyd

And all that happened in his name

Our sense of justice was destroyed

A lasting legacy of shame

 

There is no peace across the land

It is a time of rage and strife

The evil ones have made a stand

Renee Good has lost her life

 

She was a mother and a friend

Tonight she is no longer

A precious life has found an end

The resistance must grow stronger

 

 

Trump's War of Choice

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: VENEZUELA

 

Trump’s War

 

The president said his piece

He did not mention democracy

On this war it’s plain to see

Maduro is not the beast

 

Trump is the aggressor

He has made it very clear

He’s collecting his investors

As the dominoes fall near

 

As the Epstein files uncoil

This is a war of choice

A war of politics and oil

In which the people have no voice

 

There will be a price to pay

In both blood and reputation

By the hand that we have played

We’ve become a lawless nation

 

This war will haunt us through the years

It will feed our enemies fuel

We have found our own King Lear

Who proved more foolish than his fool

 

When it all is written down

It is a nightmare without end

To this catastrophe we’re bound

Will this wound ever mend?

 

Bombs from America

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: VENEZUELA

 

Bombs from America

 

When the polls turn south in the USA

Bombs will fall on foreign lands

Bush the elder bombed Iraq

Bush the younger Afghanistan

Clinton bombed poor Kosovo

Barack Obama sent his drones

Donald Trump was a bit slow

Trying it out in Iran and Syria

Letting it go in Nigeria

Now deciding Maduro must go

It’s all for oil and show

 

When bombs lit up the Caracas sky

We didn’t need to wonder why

Trump has lost his hold on power

His loyal followers have soured

That’s why he’s turned to war

A settling of old forgotten scores

 

America is no longer first

It isn’t second, third or fourth

In Venezuela it’s much worse

For Trump has set his course

He’s a war president now

Sit back and watch the Dow

Many will die before it’s through

That much we know is true

 

No Peace

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

No Peace

 

There is no peace in Syria

where forever war still reigns

in Yemen or Nigeria

where war’s an old refrain

 

In Gaza there’s no peace

in Israel or Ukraine

in Russia there’s a beast

whose war is now ingrained

 

There is no peace in Pakistan

the old war rages on

no peace in Afghanistan

the Taliban is not gone

 

There’s no peace in any nation

where the iron fist is strong

there is no celebration

where everything is wrong

 

There is no peace in India

in China or Taiwan

in Asia or in Africa

in Thailand or Saigon

 

There is no peace in Paris

in Berlin or Brazil

as long as terror scares us

the threat of war is real