The Insurrection Redux

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

The Insurrection Redux

 

The insurrection has not ended

It has simply gone to hiding

If the people are offended

We soon will be deciding

 

The insurrection will be televised

There is no doubt on that

Our history will not be revised

To reflect the latest stat

 

The last one was rehearsal

For the one that’s yet to come

No blockage or dispersal

Come on out and get you some

 

The insurrection will be televised

In all its gloom and glory

We will all believe the lies

We are sticking to our story

 

If you don’t want an insurrection

You had better make it clear

For there will be some defections

As the day of dread draws near

 

The insurrection will be televised

From its inception to its end

We will watch it grow and die

And this message we will send:

 

Go home and take your violence

Go home and take your guns

We will not stand in silence

We will not turn and run

 

Big Tent Party

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Big Tent Party

 

The Democrats are on the run

The “Big Tent” party has failed

It allowed a right-wing charlatan

To run the nation off the rails

 

If you really want a Big Tent

Don’t attack the progressive wing

If you wonder where the voters went

They felt the corporate sting

 

Hey Big Brother, have you heard?

They’re leaving you behind

They aren’t afraid of “scary” words

The people make up their own minds

 

They like what the candidates represent

They like what they have to say

A party that falls short of Big Tent

Can only get in the way

 

Expand your way of thinking

There’s a mountain we must climb

The old party has been sinking

For a very, very long time

 

You’ve been losing all the races

We have lost our peace of mind

It is time to greet new faces

Of a new and fresher kind

 

We need a new unification

Of all parties in opposition

To save this faltering nation

With a new, enlightened mission

 

The Purge

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: DEMOCRACY

 

The Purge

 

Florida pioneered purging the voter rolls

Without it Bush* would have lost

From there the question only grows

This topsy turvy world was tossed

 

They found a way to cull the vote

Using names from a felons list

That they were minorities is of note

If they were white they would have missed

 

The history of the world was altered

By that historic election fact

Our democratic system faltered

We haven’t found our way back

 

There are many ways to beat the system

Our democracy is endangered

There are times when we missed them

The threats could not be plainer

 

When it comes to cheating let’s be clear

It’s nearly always the GOP

With the next election drawing near

We can’t afford to let it be

 

All people should be united

In our belief in democracy

Do not let it be decided

By those smelling of hypocrisy

 

* George W. Bush

 

The Drought

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

The Drought

 

Lakes Powell and Mead are running dry

The Colorado is endangered

We know the simple reasons why

The strange is getting stranger

 

A victim of global climate change

A winter dry as bones

The ecosystem rearranged

The riverbeds of stone

 

Seven states are wondering

Just when their share runs out

The truth will leave a lasting sting

The warming’s not in doubt

 

Desalination is the only way

The west will survive the drought

Our world has gone so far astray

In time we’ll figure out

 

We had a chance to stem the tide

But now it’s far too late

We’re in it for a rocky ride

Hard times will be our fate

 

Some may wish to ride it out

The chips fall where they may

But one more year of stifling drought

And all will feel the pain  

No!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: THE RESISTANCE

 

No! 

 

We don’t want you wicked ICE

We don’t want your data centers

Let me give you some advice

Put an end to these adventures

 

You don’t know what you’re doing

You don’t know what you’ve done

You’re flailing and you’re suing

And the backlash has begun

 

We don’t want your dirty prisons

We don’t want your careless cuts

There’s a trail of daft decisions

The decree is open shut

 

We don’t want your lame-brained wars

We don’t want your crypto schemes

We don’t want drilling off our shores

We don’t share your racist dream

 

We don’t want to rig the vote

We don’t want soldiers on the streets

We don’t want to rock the boat

But we won’t march to your beat

 

It is time for you to go

We’ve grown tired of your act

You have lost your golden glow

Cue the curtain, fade to black

 

World on Fire

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

World on Fire

 

The world’s on fire because of us

Because of what we’ve done

In our leaders we’ve lost trust

The whole planet’s on the run

 

Think of what we’ve handed down

From the generations past

Our way of life has been unwound

The damage done is vast

 

We have left a world on fire

Catastrophes and drought

A world balanced on a tight wire

Without a clear way out

 

We wish we had it all again

I swear we’d do things differently

These are the doings of lesser men

The ones who worshiped greed

 

They didn’t care what harm they did

They plotted and they planned

They answered to the highest bid

They built their castles grand

 

Soon they’ll answer for their lapse

Their callousness and greed

They’ll hear the bells toll and the taps

They’ll find a place of need

 

 

The Smithsonian

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUE HISTORY

 

The Smithsonian

 

To tell us what is false and true

You have to know your history

Racial bias is nothing new

Your motive is not a mystery

 

We built fortunes on our slaves

It’s a matter of solemn fact

Home of the free, land of the brave

With the exception of the blacks

 

God wasn’t always on our side

When we marked a westward trail

A little matter of genocide

While we built the golden rails

 

We imprisoned the Japanese

For the country of their origin

We abused and used the Chinese

For the color of their skin

 

We fought wars for faulty reasons

So many innocents have died

We’ve seen presidents commit treason

But the law was not applied

 

Now you’d like a different story

One of heroes and wonderment

Tales of courage and of glory

Not what was but what was “meant”

 

(Trump wants the Smithsonian to

label “false” or “misleading” displays.)

 

 

Berlin Pride

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: INTOLERANCE

 

Berlin Pride

 

Berlin is no stranger

To an extremist point of view

The Germans recognize the danger

As few other nations do

 

When a man attacked a rally

That celebrated pride

They did not wait for a tally

Of those on the other side

 

Intolerance is wrong

No matter how it is painted

A nation only of the “strong”

We know well how it is tainted

 

Berlin will remain on guard

For acts of terror from the right

They have seen the racial card

In a most horrific light

 

It’s a reminder to us all

That the darkness lies in wait

Sometimes it is a wall

Sometimes we see it too late

 

For hate will find a home

Where it is allowed to grow

In Jerusalem or Rome

East Berlin and Chicago know

 

The Red Scare

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Red Scare

 

A socialist is a communist

The analogy is not fair

You don’t need to be a psychologist

To recognize the red scare

 

They tried it back in the fifties

At that time it worked real well

They tried it again in the sixties

Once again it rang a bell

 

That’s how we got the McCarthy scourge

That’s how we got Tricky Dick

At worst it is a patriot’s dirge

At best it’s a dirty trick

 

If you want to be afraid

Be afraid of the fear mongers

Until your debt is paid

The opposition will grow stronger

 

They’re swimming against the tide

They are summoning the past

Let’s take it all in stride

Their decline is steep and fast

 

Hey buddy have you heard?

We are not afraid of words

Take your tricks and go away

Find another part to play

 

 

Idiot Winds (El Nino)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

Idiot Winds

 

El Nino is coming

And it’s packing a heavy punch

The strongest it has ever been

Makes the others look like runts

 

With the warming at its back

The effects will be dramatic

It will turn our lights to black

All the warnings are emphatic

 

Some will say it is the wrath

But climate change is here

We have chosen this tragic path

The implications are too clear

 

The storms will be colossal

Across continents they will swarm

Some may pray to the apostles

But the climate is too warm

 

Droughts will lead to floods

Rivers raging in the air

Rolling rivers made of mud

We’ll be caught inside the lair

 

Some say nothing can be done

At this stage they may be right

We’ll take refuge from the sun

We’ll take comfort in the night

 

 

Casualties of War

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

 

Casualties of War

 

You gave us a promise on election day

No more stupid wars

America wanted another way

They chose to say: no more

 

So now we find ourselves at war

For Netanyahu and Israel’s sake

So we ask ourselves once more

How many must die for your mistake?

 

You don’t know how to say you’re wrong

You have played the warlord’s fool

Your sense of power far too strong

You forgot the golden rule

 

Don’t gamble more than you can lose

The very faith of MAGA nation

Now you cannot face the news

A sense of brazen indignation

 

This is the war you wanted

Now everything’s at stake

You pretend that you’re undaunted

How many will die for your mistake?

 

 

Yourself to Blame

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORRUPTION

 

Yourself to Blame

 

When we get the power back

You will hide your heads in shame

You pushed so hard you’re off the tracks

You’ll have only yourself to blame

 

You took in so much dirty money

You didn’t even try to hide it

It’s no longer even funny

All the billionaires confide it

 

You cooked up a thousand schemes

While taking money from the poor

You’ve destroyed the American dream

While kicking migrants out the door

 

When this chapter finally ends

The world will sigh with great relief

Not a soul will defend

The president who was a thief

 

When you take your final leave

A curse will be upon your name

When it happens you’ll believe

You’ll only have yourself to blame

 

 

American Politics

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

American Politics

 

Politics is not a team sport

Judge Judy is not a real court

When the fate of the nation’s at hand

It should not be a battle of the bands

 

When Tom Paine spoke so beautifully

Of the times that try men’s souls

Among the founders he did foresee

A nation made less than whole

 

By a ruthless man who would want a crown

Who flattered the people with promises

Of course he would let the people down

He doesn’t mean a word that he says

 

When the founders spoke of tyranny

Of enemies within and without

They foresaw the threats to our liberty

They knew there would be doubt

 

There’s so much more at stake

In the election of a head of state

Than just winning for winning’s sake

It foretells the nation’s fate

 

Replacement

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AI

 

Replacement

 

The future is now

You’re freeing the monster that chases you

We don’t know when but we do know how

You are feeding the beast that replaces you

 

It arrived like a stealth in the quick of night

The beast rose up from within

We saw it coming yet we didn’t fight

We did not know how to begin

 

It creeps inside your suspicious mind

It steals your most useful knowledge

It shares it all with one of its kind

You’ve become the entity’s college

 

In the course of time you will stand aside

They will offer you some small token

There is no choice but the rising tide

For the powers that be have spoken

 

It may be too late to hold it back

For the end is within our sight

Before the monsters link in a joint attack

We must offer up a fight

 

For they’ll replace us at the polling place

They’ll replace us at the wall

They’ll replace us with a smiling face

They will replace us in the halls