Senator Collins Stands for War

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Maine for War

 

The honorable Senator of Maine *

Raises her hand for war

The Senator has made it plain

Her cowardice runs to the core

 

She’s made an art of equivocation

On every issue under the sun

In the end she knows her station

Her vote belongs to the one

 

It’s never about her conscience

It’s rarely about her pride

It rarely makes any sense

She is always on their side

 

This time she has gone too far

In a vote for the Iran war

She is Maine’s declining star

They won’t stand for her anymore

 

She would send your kids to die

So far away and all alone

She could never tell them why

The voters should send her home

 

* Susan Collins

 

Defending Democracy (Again)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: DEMOCRACY

 

Defending Democracy (Again)

 

Now is the time to marshal defense

Of our democratic institutions

Our waiting time is nearly spent

We have offered our solutions

 

Our enemies are on the offense

Their attacks are neverending

We all know what is meant

By the money that they’re spending

 

We feel it at the ballot box

They want your papers please

The basic right to vote is blocked

Registration rolls are seized

 

Soldiers at the voting sites

Insurrectionists in the fold

A bold denial of our rights

The excuses have grown old

 

If we’d like to stop the steal

We must rally to the cause

These attacks are very real

We can’t depend on the law

 

They will take it if they can

Give an inch, they’ll take a mile

If we fail to make a stand

They will take it with a smile

 

 

The Saboteur

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: NETANYAHU

 

The Saboteur

 

With the Strait of Hormuz closed

And the whole world feeling squeezed

Netanyahu plays the rogue

He derailed the talks with ease

 

It did not apply to Lebanon

The bombing there increased

Did they get their signals wrong?

Or did he sabotage the peace?

 

The story played on Wall Street

The Dow went through the sky

Netanyahu saw defeat

So he exposed it as a lie

 

Now the fighting will go on

In fact it hardly skipped a beat

Netanyahu played the con

That made the lie complete

 

Iran is fighting to survive

Like all of Palestine before

The cause of peace has lost its drive

We will carry on with war

 

The brutal goal is demolition

Reduce it all to a wasteland

That is Netanyahu’s mission

And he will do it if he can

 

If that means mass genocide

That is just the way it goes

They’ve got us on their side

So we will watch the horrors grow

 

 

The Master

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

 

The Master

 

He is a genius in his mind

No one’s seen anything like it

He is the greatest of his kind

If you’re fool enough to buy it

 

He’ll take you down for being there

He’ll chop you into little pieces

He’ll carve you up in manners rare

Until your action ceases

 

He is the king of all he sees

The minions bow before him

He’s conquered death and all disease

The ladies all adore him

 

His greatness stands above us all

He is the great destroyer

When he breathes whole nations fall

He’s a scholar and a lawyer

 

If you should see him run away

As far and fast as you can run

If he perceives you’ve gone astray

He’ll end you just for fun

 

Kicking the Hornets' Nest

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Kicking the Hornets’ Nest

 

When you initiate a war

You ought to know what’s in store

It shouldn’t be just a guess

When you’ve kicked the hornets’ nest

 

The Hormuz Strait is still closed

Iran is shooting down our jets

The sense of failure only grows

For we have kicked the hornets’ nest

 

The whole region is inflamed

The whole world is feeling pressed

We all know who’s to blame

For he has kicked the hornets’ nest

 

Now we are offering a deal

Though it seems it is in jest

These ultimatums are not real

For we have kicked the hornets’ nest

 

Now Iraq is up in arms

What happens next is just a guess

Every move will promise harm

For we have kicked the hornets’ nest

 

Get out now while there’s still time

Get out yesterday is best

As all our enemies fall in line

We have kicked the hornets’ nest

 

The Costs of War

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR

 

The Cost of War

 

We really don’t need healthcare

We don’t need housing anymore

We can use that money elsewhere

We can fund the Iran War

 

We don’t need to feed the homeless

We don’t need shelters from the storms

We don’t need highways in the west

So we can pave the road to war

 

We don’t need public education

We don’t need to help the poor

We don’t need walls or space stations

Let’s fund the Iran War

 

After all it is our mission

We are destined to want more

He has made this bold decision

We must fund the Iran War

 

To hell with all our handouts

To hell with building up our shores

Tell the world to have no doubts

We can fund our dirty wars

 

 

Back to the Stone Age

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Back to the Stone Age

 

America is great

America is strong

If you doubt us just wait

We will send all Iran

Back to the stone age

To where they belong

We’ll show you our rage

We’ll sing you our song

 

Ninety million people

Living in the dark

Ninety million people

The vision is stark

Ninety million people

Without power or defense

Wipe the slate clean

Is that what he meant?

The greatest ever seen

A president that’s bent

 

Lay waste to all the land

Ancient Persia is no more

Destruction is his brand

He’s the master of war

He did it because he can

Now he seems a little bored

He’s desperate for fans

He did it for the Lord

 

War for Jesus

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

War for Jesus

 

“Jesus don’t like killing no matter

what the reasons for…”

 

John Prine, Flag Decal

 

Jesus was a man of peace

Do not prostitute his name

The man who turned the other cheek

Would fill your soul with shame

 

You’re the Secretary of War

That much you have proclaimed

You are the president’s little whore

You’re supposed to take the blame

 

So don’t shift it all to Jesus

Do not blame it on the lord

Did you think that it would please us?

Calling Jesus to your war

 

Blame it on your raging boss

This is a war of his choosing

He tossed the dice and lost

We’re accustomed to his losing

 

(Note: Pete Hegseth makes appeals

to Jesus in the war effort.)

 

Advice to Young Men

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CONSCRIPTION

 

Advice to Young Men *

 

It may be hard to believe

They used to send us to war

They lied and deceived

They never said what for

 

They gave us a number

They took away our names

Then we went into slumber

It all felt like a game

 

They wanted us to fight

Without question or doubt

It would all turn out right

When we figured it out

 

So they sent us off to war

To kill and sometimes die

On a far, faraway shore

And still we never asked why

 

Now here’s my sage advice

Do not answer that call

Let them ask you more than twice

Do not answer them at all

 

It goes against humanity

To send our young to die

It smells of rank insanity

When they cannot tell you why

 

* and women

 

 

America Stands Alone

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

America Stands Alone

 

The Middle East is on fire

The Strait of Hormuz is closed

We are balancing on a wire

Our president is loathed

 

Betrayed at every turn

Europe goes its own way

When will we ever learn?

This is the price we pay

 

Netanyahu is our only friend

The Israelis tire of his act

We all demand that this war end

Before the next attack

 

Another hundred billion dollars

To be thrown into the flames

The debt keeps growing taller

Just to glorify his name

 

The world has lost its breath

Seems his heart is made of stone

Mass destruction, pointless death

And America stands alone

 

Contempt

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

 

Contempt

 

The president has contempt for democracy

The president has contempt

The president has contempt for

Freedom of speech

Freedom of the press

Freedom of thought

Freedom of expression

 

The president has contempt

For the right to vote

For the right to dissent

The right to gather in protest

The right to write and publish

The president has contempt

 

The president loves autocracies

Where no one asks questions

Where the leader’s word is gold

Where the opposition is oppressed

Where activists are jailed

Where protestors are shot

Where the people bow before him

Where judges are compliant

Where the people have no voice

 

The president has contempt

For all that we hold dear

Freedom, independence, individuality

The right to be ourselves

 

 

LA Heat Wave

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

LA Heat Wave

 

With so much trouble in the world

We forget about the warming

With all these missiles being hurled

We didn’t hear the warning

 

Oh we recall when it was the rage

The sky is falling, falling

We’ve entered the disaster age

We can hear the siren calling

 

Now the heat is coming back again

There is nothing we can do

Hide away and count to ten

Please tell me when it’s through

 

But there’s no brushing this aside

The warming takes its toll

It’s going to be a bumpy ride

For the planet as a whole

 

Forget about these brutal wars

We’re all in this together

This is a glimpse of what’s in store

This ain’t no change in weather

 

 

United Against the War

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

United Against the War

 

If the Democrats aren’t united

Against the Iranian War

They will lose the next election

It’s not enough to be against the

Oligarchs and for the poor

We demand a different direction

 

Don’t lose yourselves in strategic detail

Don’t pause to salute the troops

Don’t let the wind escape your sails

Don’t get caught in an infinite loop

 

This is not a war of necessity

This was a deliberate choice

To say anything else is a travesty

You will lose your persuasive voice

 

Stand together united in principle

This war is damnably wrong

No empire is invincible

The opposition must hold strong

 

Don’t say it needs deliberation

Don’t hem and haw like you did before

We are not an imperialist nation

Stand strong against this war

 

 

The Lies of War

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

One Lie after Another

 

They were going to hit us so we hit first

They had neither capacity nor plan

Netanyahu’s plan is an avenger’s curse

So we went along to show we can

 

They were weeks away from a nuke

They were years away by all accounts

Months ago you gave your rebuke

Warheads they could not mount

 

We did it to secure the oil supply

The supply was already secured

Securing oil is a well-worn lie

We need not be assured

 

The Ayatollah was insane

But it was Putin who bombed Ukraine

Bombing civilians without restraint

Your ambitions are very plain

 

Iran was a broken nation

Long before these attacks began

There was no contemplation

Of attacking any other land

 

We want peace in the Middle East

Yet you have started forever war

The Ayatollah is deceased

But you’ve opened Pandora’s door