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

 

 

Shockwaves over Caracas

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR

 

Shockwaves over Caracas

 

Venezuela is in turmoil

Maduro has been captured

America claims her oil

On this winter day the third

 

Bright flames light up the sky

Explosions fill the air

The world must wonder why

This president has dared

 

He thinks they will surrender

Without offering up a fight

But this day they’ll remember

For the dimming of the light

 

All the world must now tremble

In fear and trepidation

The world order is dissembled

By a rogue and brutish nation

 

Like Russia in Ukraine

Without cause or provocation

Our actions leave a stain

There can be no salvation

 

We’ve learned nothing from the past

A war for oil in Iraq

Unlawful gains will never last

Once they absorb the shock

 

 

The New Millennium

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICA

 

The New Millennium

 

Twenty-five years into the new millennium

A year of extraordinary upheaval

Not a moment of boredom or tedium

The forces of virtue versus evil

 

Our democracy on the ropes

Bruised and battered by our president

Sliding down that slippery slope

A twisted vision warped and bent

 

His cause of mindless deportation

Pushes forward at a dizzy pace

The very core of the American nation

Devoid of justice and of grace

 

That we’ve endured this bold attack

Is a tribute to our strength and core

Somehow we’ll win our country back

Before he starts another war

 

All to please his quest for power

“The likes of which” we rarely see

The angry king in his lonely tower

A reign of terror, rage and greed

 

May we never see his like again

May his time in office soon expire

The things he’s done we can’t defend

A nation balanced on a wire

 

 

In the Name of Democracy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: DEMOCRACY

 

In the Name of Democracy

 

In the name of democracy

Join the streets of protest

 

In the name of democracy

Resist the oppressors of immigrants

 

In the name of democracy

Rise up to defend the ballot box

 

In the name of democracy

Maintain a constant vigilance

Support your local dissidents

 

In the name of democracy

Challenge all authority

Support independent media

 

In the name of democracy

Teach your children your ideals

Value freedom of speech

 

In the name of democracy

Know the history of our nation

Slavery and subjugation

A little matter of native genocide

The right to vote denied

 

In the name of democracy

Remember who we are

The ones who came from afar

To fight for freedom from a king

The right to worship and to sing

Let the bells of freedom ring

In the name of democracy

 

Any War Will Do

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Any War

 

Because the president says it

Does not mean that it is true

The president wants a war

Almost any war will do

 

There is no trouble in Liberia

No Christian genocide in Nigeria

We have no business in Siberia

There is no reason for hysteria

 

He’s waging war on Venezuela

Cuba, Haiti and Brazil

He’s sending troops to Arcadia

He wants an enemy he can kill

 

If we are waging war on ISIS

Set the target within Sahel

There you will find a crisis

Turning villages into hell

 

But you don’t want a righteous war

When any third world war will do

You don’t care the reasons for

You don’t need a cause that’s true

 

You’ll keep on throwing bombs

To distract us from the truth

It’s an old familiar song

To be answered in the booth

 

 

Russian Mercenaries

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RUSSIA

 

Russian Mercenaries

 

They don’t have enough soldiers

To fight their war against Ukraine

But they’re sending mercenaries to Mali

To join a war of the insane

 

They don’t believe in their cause

Because the cause is not their own

They’re fundamentally flawed

Like a heart made of stone

 

They pay the North Korean poor

To boost their numbers in Ukraine

But every mercenary war

Is a war fought in vain

 

They ignore all human rights

They practice torture and abuse

When they have lost the will to fight

Their iron grip will shake loose

 

The Russians are a scourge

On the entire human race

Their forces should be purged

From each and every civilized place

 

 

The Great Voter Purge

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

The Voter Purge

 

It all started in Tallahassee

The Great American Voter Purge

Now it moves from sea to sea

To counter an expected voter surge

 

There’s more than one way to win

Without a majority of votes

Let the next great purge begin

All historians should take notes

 

They’ll take a list of minority names

Gathered from the crime rolls

They’ll paint them all with fiendish shame

They will sell their eternal souls

 

All those voters will be tossed

Without time to restore them

The Democrats will pay the cost

At our peril do we ignore them

 

There is no border they won’t cross

No lie, no fraud, no cheat

To please their crude and wicked boss

To avoid a huge defeat

 

Exchanging Christmas

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CHRISTMAS

 

Exchanging Christmas

 

Let’s exchange Christmas

For a day to help the poor

Let’s gather all the kindness

For an end to every war

 

After all our needs are modest

There’s little more we need

Let’s exchange the happy holidays

For an end to corporate greed

 

We know money isn’t everything

But it’s something that we need

Instead of wrapping gifts in string

There are many mouths to feed

 

Let’s celebrate a day of giving

By helping others to survive

Let’s improve the lives we’re living

For we are blessed to be alive

 

Let’s exchange just one Christmas

To make the world a better place

To give the gift of kindness

To help all the human race

 

Peace & Love to All!

 

A Christmas Wish

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CHRISTMAS

 

A Christmas Wish

 

I wish for peace on Mother Earth

May all have shelter from the storm

Let each receive what she is worth

May all be fed and warm

 

May all of us know love

As forceful as a lion’s roar

As lovely as a white-winged dove

An end to hunger, greed and war

 

May music grace the evening air

May beauty paint the sky

An end to sorrow and despair

May solemn truth replace the lie

 

May each of us respect the other

As if they were ourselves

All women sisters, all men brothers

Put all our bias on the shelf

 

May meaning be revealed to all

Enlightenment to some

May every child grow strong and tall

In all the years to come

 

May Christmas bring a special cheer

To everyone on earth

May we celebrate this time of year

Mother Nature’s great rebirth

 

 

Bondi Beach

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Bondi Beach

 

We mourn the dead of Bondi Beach

As we grieve the dead in Palestine

Mercy moves beyond our reach

There is no justice we can find

 

The Jewish people cannot be blamed

For the mindless vengeance of one man

For though they share a Jewish name

The stand apart on the Zion plan

 

Each man and woman on the earth

Has a right to their own beliefs

Each man and woman has their worth

And is entitled to share relief

 

When we seek vengeance as a cause

You can be sure it will strike back

If we’re a people of civilized laws

We can’t condone such vile attacks

 

So let us mourn all those who die

In the cause of vengeful pride

Let us condemn the reasons why

End the vengeance on both sides

 

 

A Workingman's Christmas

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  CHRISTMAS

 

Working Man’s Christmas

 

It’s Christmas for the working man

A time of joy and cheer

A time to listen to the band

Forget your worries and your fears

 

For other folks on Christmas Day

They’ll celebrate the past

The working folks must find a way

To make their Christmas last

 

Some will work into the night

To pay for these few hours

A second job to make it right

To build those Lego towers

 

It’s Christmas time for everyone

For Tom and Bill and Alice

The children must all have their fun

So grab the silver chalice

 

And raise a toast to the giving season

Give the workers what they need

For everyone must have a reason

To overcome their daily greed

 

 

Santiago Falls (The Ghost of Pinochet)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LATIN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Santiago Falls

 

Jose Antonio Kast

Brings back shadows of the past

The ghost of Pinochet

Has come back to haunt Chile

 

A campaign of law and order

A promise to protect the border

Rising crime and deportation

Mounting fear and desperation

 

We cannot predict the future

But we can warn about the past

As the future travels nearer

Our dread grows deep and vast

 

Recall the disappeared

Remember the oppression

The iron fist of fear

Has Chile learned her lesson?

 

Or is she now condemned

To repeat her sordid past?

On this man you’ll depend

To break his fascist cast

 

 

The Great Northwest Flood

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

The Great Northwest Flood

 

A torrent from the heavens

Tears through the Great Northwest

From Mount Olympus down to Pullman

The dams and rivers crest

 

From the Skagit to the Skokomish

All the rivers overrun

The people have one Christmas wish

That this nightmare is done

 

For now they are in crisis mode

They’re scrambling for their lives

They’ve lived enough to know the code

They know how to survive

 

But this one hit them stronger

Than most every storm before

Each time it takes them longer

To recover and restore

 

We all know it is the warming

That brings this kind of rain

The hurricanes and storming

Our structures under strain

 

We can’t go on pretending

The warming is not here

Deflecting and defending

There is no cause for fear

 

So do whatever you can do

To get ready for the next one

For we know this much is true:

It gets worse before it’s done