The Secret State

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

The Secret State

 

You put him in power

To get rid of the fat

The useless abusers

Not the harmless bureaucrats

They said they would rid you

Of the secret, deep state

The unelected elites

That control the nation’s fate

 

Now look who’s in charge

Every minute and hour

They’ve taken up residence

In the executive tower

They make the decisions

They pull all the strings

They sound the alarms

Just to see if they ring

We had no deep state

But now that we do

They’ll tear down democracy

The joke is on you

 

Social Security?

Medicare and Medicaid?

Just wait til you see

The plans that they’ve laid

Environmental protection?

Who cares about that?

Get rid of it all

They’ll just call it fat

Educating the poor?

The ones who can’t pay

Throw it out with the trash

And call it a day

Freedom of speech?

The right to exist?

They’ll answer to that

With a hammer and fist

 

Is this what you wanted?

Nobody cares

In the politics of war

Everything’s fair

 

Stand your Ground

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

 

Stand your Ground

 

There are times to compromise

There are times to stand your ground

When all you hear are lies

To honor you are bound

 

Your principles should never bend

Or bow to greater force

While broken fences we should mend

Remember: stay the course

 

A compromise will never do

When it wounds your very soul

To yourself you must be true

You’ll find no other role

 

So suffer through the consequence

If that is what’s required

For that is what the wise one meant

Do not put out the fire

 

For we are what we stand for

Be it bad or be it good

We’ll open up or bar the door

According to what we should

 

Hammer and Fist

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

Hammer and Fist

 

Fire and hail seems very odd

The hammer and the fist

If there’s such a thing as the curse of God

It would look a lot like this

 

A trail of mass destruction

From the west to the open plains

Here’s an obvious deduction:

The gods have gone insane

 

The planet earth is striking back

At those who would destroy her

The wind and rain are on attack

Your laughter just annoys her

 

We warned you we would pay the price

For a failure to transition

You would not take our sage advice

Now you’ll face an inquisition

 

It’s far too late to make amends

But we could mitigate the harm

The cost of playing let’s pretend

The earth’s not growing warm

 

The Silence

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: PROTEST

 

The Silence

 

They have silenced the voice of America

The voice of freedom and human rights

They have silenced the voice of Americans

As if we’ve given up the fight

 

The fight for progress and democracy

Against oppression and autocracy

The right to decency and civility

Without regard to one’s ability

 

They have silence dissenting voices

With a threat of retribution

They would eliminate our choices

Intimidation is their solution

 

They have silenced former presidents

The free media and the press

Mass oppression is in residence

The right to march the streets in protest

 

We will not give up the fight

We will retain our defiance

We’ll demand our civil rights

We will never yield to silence

 

Venezuelan Refugees

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: MASS DEPORTATION

 

Venezuelan Refugees

 

Sending refugees to prison in El Salvador

A level of depravity rarely seen

Even in the lowest dream

Like jailing people for being poor

What else would we do?

Are there any limitations?

Have we become a heartless nation?

 

We have lost our moral grounding

It is pitiful and yet it’s true

Our cruelty is astounding

Some would say it’s nothing new

 

They are fleeing from oppression

As we encouraged them to do

We would teach them all a lesson

But we failed to see it through

Now we tell them you’re not welcome here

You’re not welcome anywhere

We condemn you to a life of fear

Though we know it is not fair

 

This is not the old America

The one you knew and loved

This is the hateful nation

The hawk without the dove

 

(Trump administration ships Venezuelan

refugees to prison in El Salvador.)

 

Revenge and Retribution

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Revenge and Retribution

 

Have you no shame?

Your pledge of retribution

Beyond a simple blame

Shames the institution

That upholds the rule of law

A solemn vow of fairness

A crude and ugly flaw

An absence of awareness

So heartless and so raw

You take the final straw

 

You, sir, are a disgrace

Beyond all comprehension

An actor out of place

Far too dark to mention

A man without a heart

A fool without a soul

You’re tearing us apart

Destroyer is your role

You are a piece of art

Destruction is your goal

 

We don’t know what you think

Are you really such a tool?

We fear a missing link

Or are you simply cruel?

Do you want to be remembered

As the worst who ever ruled?

The one and only member

The one who bears the name

The last of burning embers

The man who has no shame

 

This is Not a Drill

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Not a Drill (Ode to Canada)

 

Sound the alarm

This is not a drill

We’re sworn to do no harm

Yet we feel a sudden chill

 

Our neighbor is our friend

We’ve never had a better

Our money we would lend

Followed strictly by the letter

 

Now everything has changed

We’ve threatened them with debt

Our friendship is estranged

It’s as if we’ve never met

 

Take heed while you can

For this is not a drill

Our leader wants your land

He has the power and the will

 

He will take it if you let him

He expects you to defer

If you’re afraid you will upset him

Do not let his threat deter

 

Time to stand and fight back

Time to summon all your friends

Do not waver, stay on track

Do not fold or bend

 

This is not a drill

It is a call to arms

Summon all your will

Sound the alarm

The Ugly & the Grotesque

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

The Ugly & the Grotesque *

 

In the name of our president

The ugly and the grotesque

Will vie for the president’s favor

Daddy loves me best!

 

One operates in prejudice

The other deals in greed

If either has his way

The common folks will bleed

 

It’s not a pretty picture

No matter where you turn

Without a moral compass

The people will get burned

 

Neither has a beating heart

Both want to lead the band

Masters of the wicked arts

The finest in the land

 

With these two on the playing field

No one can be assured

The power that they wield depends

On who has the final word

 

* Bannon and Musk

 

The Arrogance of Wealth

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

The Arrogance of Wealth

 

He thinks himself the Uberman

The one who knows it all

He bought the patriotic brand

In the rise before the fall

 

The arrogance that money buys

Beyond what he deserves

That leads to countless boastful lies

An ego beyond words

 

He’s certain he’s the smartest man

Who ever roamed the earth

No one could ever understand

How much his money’s worth

 

He is the king of everything

The lord of all he sees

His smile can make the morning sing

His touch can cure disease

 

So don’t you ever doubt him

He knows beyond all knowledge

We can’t do it without him

We’re kinders to his college

 

Democracy is Dead

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Democracy is Dead

 

Democracy is by and by

Racing swiftly to the grave

Its founding always was a lie

The people were enslaved

 

Where were you on that solemn day

When the dream was put to bed?

Did you hear our vaunted leaders say

Democracy is dead?

 

Did it catch you by surprise?

Did you think it was enshrined?

You couldn’t see through all the lies

All the planets realigned

 

We warned you it could fall

Without a strong defense

We were up against the wall

We warned you what it meant

 

So now we are consigned

To a life under the gun

We’ll have to toe the line

The oligarchs have won

 

Appeasement

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Appeasement

 

Neville Chamberlain appeased the Reich

Before the Reich invaded Poland

Our leader knows it is not right

But he’ll give Zelensky no land

 

Mexico appeased our president

Before he launched his trade war

A tariff where all the money went

Slamming shut an open door

 

I understand the need to please

The big bully on the border

But that’s no reason to appease

It just fuels his cruel disorder

 

Our good neighbors understand

He is not a man of common sense

He only cares about his brand

His sense of fairness bent

 

Appeasing him will do no good

It will only make his fire burn

All who’ve known him understood

This man will never learn

 

Broken Promise

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP & PUTIN

 

Broken Promise

 

He promised to end the war

With fairness, honor and dignity

Instead his clumsy White House roar

Called for surrender without indemnity

 

If you don’t intend to keep your word

Let it be behind closed doors

For now all the world has heard

Your betrayal on the war

 

You are a Putin underling

You answer to his orders

When he snaps his fingers you must sing

Expand the Russian borders

 

You’ve broken this and every other

Promise that you’ve made

For you are Putin’s little brother

The best of plans you’ve laid

 

To redraw the world’s geography

The Russian American empires

To write a new biography

To set the world on fire

 

The whole of Europe is alarmed

They will not let this pass

They will not yield to Putin’s charm

Or bow down to the American …

Canada Strikes Back

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRADE WARS

 

Canada Strikes Back

 

Our president has made it clear

Our neighbors are our adversaries

It’s Vladimir Putin he holds dear

The entire free world is wary

 

As he wages war on our good neighbors

He thinks they have no cards to play

All our allies are out of favor

He thinks there is no price to pay

 

But that which burns goes both ways

The markets are heading down

We’re not the only ones who play

What comes will go around

 

The same for all our former friends

When hit they will strike back

Our balanced trade is at an end

For resolve they do not lack

 

So if we want to play that game

We’ll find that all will lose

To you that fouled belongs the blame

We all must pay our dues

 

(Trudeau announces counter measures

to US tariffs.)

 

The Imperial President

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

The Imperial President

 

He wants it all

There is nothing too great

And nothing too small

To dissuade him of wanting

Control of it all

 

He wants Manhattan

He wants Brooklyn too

He wants a hotel in Moscow

To see him through

 

He wants all of Canada

He wants Greenland too

If you think he’s joking

He wants a piece of you

 

He will not be stopped

By any laws of man

He owns the Supremes

To carry out his plan

 

He has warned his enemies

Just get out of his way

If you have a problem

He’ll deport you today

 

Flirting with the Swastika

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Flirting with the Swastika

 

You don’t dance with the devil

If you don’t like the heat

You don’t ask for a chair

If you don’t want a seat

 

You don’t joke about the war

Unless you know what for

You don’t curse the house you live in

Unless you’re out the door

 

You don’t wish upon a star

If you do not have a wish

You don’t travel very far

If you only want to fish

 

You don’t sing with the fascists

Unless you’re in the fascist fold

You don’t flirt with a swastika

To pretend that you’re bold

 

Some things just aren’t funny

And some things do not rhyme

You don’t take dirty money

If you only want the time

 

Zelensky Stands

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

 

Zelensky Stands

 

Our president disgraced himself        

In the vaunted Oval Office

Before the eyes of the world

In full view of the people

A display of cowardly rudeness

For everyone to see

 

Every American who stands against Zelensky

Stands against the sacred vow

Every nation that stands against Ukraine

Stands against freedom and democracy

Every nation that stands with our president

Stands against justice and the rule of law

 

We don’t need to know what Vladimir Putin

Holds over our president

What we have seen in the glaring light

Of public outrage and embarrassment

Is more than sufficient

 

Zelensky is a champion of liberty

Standing up to a powerful despot

That our president chooses to stand

With the despot against democracy

With the dictator against freedom

With the mass murderer against

The defender of Ukrainian sovereignty

Is beyond the bounds of human dignity

 

Every American should be embarrassed

Every European should feel betrayed

Every citizen of the free world

Should be forewarned

 

America is on the wrong side of justice

America is on the wrong side of history

America is on the wrong side of decency

 

As America falls

Zelensky stands

The Opposite of Truth

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

 

The Opposite of Truth

 

It is one thing to deceive

To deny and obscure the truth

It is another to proclaim the opposite

To describe the elderly as youth

To state the hero of the story

Of Lincoln’s assassination

Was really John Wilkes Booth

 

The confederacy fought for freedom

The union fought for slaves

Those who stood were cowards

And those who ran were brave

Global warming is a fallacy

It is really the Big Freeze

Caused by wind and solar

We can solve it with ease

 

Zelensky is a tyrant

Who wanted this brutal war

Vladimir Putin is a hero

Who pays tribute to the poor

White people are oppressed

Black people live in ease

There’s no such thing as covid

Or any other strange disease