The Marker

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORRUPTION

 

The Marker

 

When a mob boss gives you something

Like a yacht on the Baltic Sea

A ruby necklace or a diamond ring

You can bet it isn’t free

 

He’s gonna call your marker

He’s going to call it soon

Just like a circus barker

He’s gonna play your tune

 

Elon gave a half a bill

To put you in the White House

But when he came to do his will

All his dreams were doused

 

He’s gonna call your marker

He’s going to call it soon

Just like a circus barker

He’s gonna play your tune

 

Putin gave you treasures

That no one really knows

Were there illicit pleasures

That the Epstein files would show?

 

He’s gonna call your marker

He’s going to call it soon

Just like a circus barker

He’s gonna play your tune

 

When the crypto kings came calling

When they gave you just a taste

The competition started falling

You changed your mind in haste

 

They’re gonna call your marker

They’re going to call it soon

Just like a circus barker

They’re gonna play your tune

 

Bravo Mark Carney!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CANADA

 

Bravo Mark Carney

 

Prime Minister Mark Carney

Stood tall and strong in the Hague

He declared his case for liberty

On the biggest European stage

 

The United States under Donald Trump

Has betrayed our closest allies

He faced a choice to take the lumps

Or to be stronger, smarter, wise

 

His word were proudly spoken

Of common principles and foundations

He spoke of his true devotion

To his people and his nation

 

Our president may forsake it

But he has pushed them to this act

Now he’ll have to grin and take it

Or accelerate his attack

 

Canada will stand up strong

They have given us fair warning

They’ve put up with him far too long

Now we awaken to a new morning

 

It’s the only way to deal with him

The biggest bully on the block

Rise up and his light will dim

He is running out the clock

 

Banned

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: FREE PRESS

 

Banned

 

If he had read the first amendment

(some doubt he reads at all)

The work of our descendants

The free press cannot fall

 

But he doesn’t like their inquisition

The push him into a rage

They challenge all of his positions

Draw attention to his age

 

So he takes away their access

He throws them out the door

Like they’re all a bunch of pests

He won’t see them anymore

 

Yet he’ll see them on the daily news

He’ll see them at their best

He’ll see them when the people choose

The freedom of the press

 

They will yell it from the mountaintop

The president has no clothes

They’ll tell it when his rallies flop

And when resistance grows

 

He banned them from the White House

But he can’t take their right to speak

He’s as feeble as a field mouse

He’s a man well past his peak

 

And everybody knows it well

The people want him gone

We’d like to send him straight to jail

His kingdom for a pawn

 

A New Alliance

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CANADA

 

A New Alliance

 

America’s loss is Europe’s gain

(if America is the United States)

While our relationship is feeling strained

The Europeans are feeling great

 

Our president wants to own them

Convert them to the 51^st state

He regards them as a northern gem

If only they’d cooperate

 

Canada has a different notion

An alliance with another union

Terms of agreement are in motion

Soon the deal will be done

 

Europe’s gain is America’s loss

A wider sphere of influence

They want a partner, not a boss

A measure of their defiance

 

They’ll try again when Trump is gone

They are tired trying to please him

They’ll wait until the coming dawn

Til then they’ll just release him

 

Nexus in Texas

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Nexus

 

It all comes together in Texas

In a region known as Big Bend

In this place and time it’s the nexus

Upon which our future depends

 

The people do not want a wall

In a place there is no need

This is where their power falls

And their movement starts to bleed

 

It’s a teacher against a crook

Ken Paxton wrote the book

Talarico represents new blood

Ken Paxton is covered in mud

 

Will the people finally realize

Their representatives are corrupt?

Will they wake up to all the lies

And tell them they’ve had enough?

 

It’s a dollar to a dime

It’s a mountain they have to climb

It’s their chance to break the chains

Their loss is the people’s gain

 

Dirty Rotten Killers

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POLICE STATE

 

Dirty Rotten Killers

 

You dirty rotten killers

You’re at it again

You all think you’re in a thriller

You all think you’re gonna win

 

You’re working for the devil

Though you might think he’s your friend

You might think he’s on the level

But your time’s about to end

 

The people rise against you

As your vile tactics grow

You will not be renewed

That much you should know

 

You will have to pay the piper

For all the damage you have done

All you dirty rotten snipers

We will have you on the run

 

Your pardons will not matter

Your crimes are documented

All of you will scatter

You are evil and demented

 

So get it while you can

Your judgement day will come

We’ll wipe away your brand

You dirty rotten bums

 

(re: ICE tactics in Virginia)

 

The Shock of 9-11

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN HISTORY

 

The Shock of 9-11

 

The shock of nine eleven

Still reverberates today

Three thousand souls in heaven

The world had lost its way

 

We remember all the tears

We remember all the rage

The recurring chain of fear

The global war on terror age

 

Our nation went to war

Long before we could assess

What they were fighting for

In a war against the west

 

We started in Afghanistan

Like the Russians did before

We fought against the Taliban

In a misbegotten war

 

We moved over to Iraq

Though no one knew what for

Like the winding of a clock

A long and futile war

 

We finally got Bin Laden

With a strike in Pakistan

At last we found revenge

Though it never was the plan

 

We mourn the lives we lost

We mourn the dead of war

The horrific human cost

Of that cold September morn

 

 

Dear Canada

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

 

 

Dear Canada

 

Dear Canada,

Before our prospects dim

We implore you take us at our word

Despite whatever you have heard

We … are not him

 

We know you are a valued friend

Our alliance we hold high

We promise we will make amends

We vow that we will try

 

He treats our friends like enemies

Our enemies like friends

The great majority does not believe

The messages he sends

 

He will not be here much longer

Though we know he will apply

The opposition grows much stronger

We’ve grown tired of his lies

 

So please … a grain of salt

Although the next year may be grim

Understand it’s not our fault

For we … are not him

 

The Moneyed Class

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

The Moneyed Class 

 

Elon Musk and the president

Have more than they can spend

Enough to fund an endless vent

Enough to make amends

 

Can money make you say

You’re contented when you’re not?

Can money make you go away?

Can it signify you’re bought?

 

They may offer up a treasure

And promise you a coat

Just for your viewing pleasure

If you offer them your vote

 

The price of gas is no concern

The price of food? Who cares?

We’ll let the redwood forest burn

We’ll let you have a share

 

You say don’t believe?

How much money would it take?

They will dazzle and deceive

Then they’ll toss you in the lake

 

You might as well give in

They are the moneyed class

They’re the ones who always win

Are they lying? Don’t ask

 

Cruel and Unusual

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IMMIGRATION

 

Cruel and Unusual

 

Deported to the C.A.R.*

For helping our nation in war*

Condemning them for who they are

To settle the president’s score

 

Cruel and unusual punishment

Is banned by our constitution

Is this what our president meant

As an immigrant solution?

 

A curse upon his family

A curse upon his head

This action is a travesty

The world is seeing red

 

Has the president no shame?

Does he know what he’s about?

He’s disgraced his family name

Our foundation is in doubt

 

His crimes are growing daily

His common decency is lost

He has no inkling of civility

And all must pay the cost

 

If we had a Court of Law

Instead of sycophants and slugs

We’d reverse these horrid flaws

Like a pesticide kills bugs

 

* Afghan refugee deported

  to the Central African Republic

 

North Texas Blaze

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

North Texas Blaze

 

As North Texas feels the blaze

As they struggle to contain

The question must be raised

Should Texans pray for rain?

 

We all know they were deniers

That delusion still remains

Now they witness warming fires

So our efforts were in vain

 

California knows it well

We have fought back all we could

The day the redwoods fell

The burning of the woods

 

We’re all in this together now

All hands must be on board

We’ll figure out the why’s and how’s

We will strike a new accord

 

For all of us will suffer

Regardless of our past

We will need to build a buffer

We will need to build it fast

 

The change has come upon us

Far faster than we knew

We’re all riders on the same bus

An now we know the truth

 

Venezuela Suffers

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LATIN AMERICA

 

Venezuela Suffers

 

Nicolas Maduro is long gone

Delcy Rodriguez is in power

We promised to right all wrongs

But that promise begins to sour

 

Our president wants their oil

To fatten his own coffers

He doesn’t want Venezuelan soil

But he is open to all offers

 

The people still live in poverty

Blackouts are a way of life

Nothing’s changed in their society

Their lives are daily strife

 

There are no elections scheduled

They live under the oligarchs rule

All those promises have cooled

The believers look like fools

 

Will democracy ever return?

Will the oligarchs ever surrender?

Will the people still get burned?

Who will be the people’s defender?

 

Our president has no answers

We are in it for the oil

Our presence there is a cancer

Get off Venezuelan soil!

 

 

Attack on Democracy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SUPREME COURT

 

Attack on Democracy

 

Seventy days before the election

And the Court is out of wack

They delivered a strained defection

That allows a bold attack

 

Our democracy is in danger

That much cannot be in doubt

Every day they make it plainer

That’s what they’re all about

 

The constitution makes it clear

The vote is governed by the states

As our election day draws near

Our officials must now wait

 

Vote-by-mail may be banished

If we don’t give up our rolls

Our rights will have vanished

Our republic without its soul

 

They will tell us who can vote

They will tell us who cannot

We’ll be sliding down that slope

That all dictators have wrought

 

 

Standing with Canada

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CANADA

 

Standing with Canada

 

Canada is our neighbor

She is not our enemy

We are not Canada’s savior

In Canada we believe

 

They are proud of their nation

Just as we are proud of ours

They are not under subjugation

They will not hide and cower

 

We stand with our neighbors

To the north and to the south

In trade and in shared labor

Our government should butt out

 

We would like cooperation

Not the bully on the block

Respect for every nation

Not the policies of shock

 

We extend our hand in friendship

We apologize for our leader

Someday maybe he’ll get a grip

And withdraw the tariff meter

 

Soon he’ll lose his leverage

We will take a different track

We will end this tariffs stage

And walk all his policies back