Land of the Free

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Land of the Free

 

What land is this I wonder

The purple mountains majesty

The land of grain and thunder

The land of grace and sympathy

The land that pulls you under

 

This is the land of liberty

The land where all are free

The land that wants no misery

The land that lets you be

The land that places family

Among the sacred trees

 

A darkness spread across the land

The shadow of a beast

Some rose up to make a stand

Some cried out for peace

Many hid and many ran

So many more deceased

 

What happened in this land of light

This land of liberty?

The place of law and human rights

The land that sings of thee

A shadow brought an endless night

A curse on all you see

We finally gave up the fight

We are no longer free

 

 

Defending Greenland

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Defending Greenland

 

Greenland is under the threat

Of its powerful former ally

There is no cause or debt

They are left to wonder why

 

The Europeans have made it clear

They will stand in Greenland’s defense

The free world has raised a cheer

A message has been sent

 

Germany, Denmark and France

Stand with their mutual friend

If this president wants to dance

The old world order will end

 

That our president has gone mad

Is apparent to all our allies

The best we can hope for is sad

That much his grin belies

 

Greenland is not for sale

It’s a sovereign dependent nation

You may cry out and you may wail

But it is not an American station

 

 

The Fall of NATO

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

The Fall of NATO

 

NATO has stood for over 75 years

United in purpose and ideals

It has relieved international fears

The dome of protection is real

 

All members honor the republican way

A declaration of human rights

There are limits on how far a nation can stray

In the dimming of Liberty’s light

 

Through all the changes and all the threats

NATO has always stood strong

Every challenge has always been met

Even times when we have been wrong

 

An attack on one is an attack on all

That is the core agreement

Without that core the treaty would fall

All members would suffer bereavement

 

When the US considers the use of force

Against a member nation

All nations must face a change of course

To reject our domination

 

 

The Iceman Cometh

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POLICE STATE

 

The Iceman Cometh *

 

She wasn’t an activist

(so what if she was)

She was a mother who dropped her child

off at school

She wasn’t obstructing the Icemen

(so what if she was)

She was trying to get away

when she found herself in a situation

Surrounded by angry men

Heavily armed, armored and vested

Some yelling at her to get out

Some yelling at her to move on

Was she frightened?  Maybe

When the Iceman cometh you should

be frightened

 

She tried to move on and they shot her

Not one of them came to her aid

Not one of them voiced disapproval

They blocked a doctor on the scene

They covered the truth

They lied

They called her a dirty red

She deserved to die they said

 

When the Icemen come to your town

Beware

Beware if you stand in their way

Beware if you tell them you’re not angry

Beware if you don’t move fast enough

Beware if you’re startled and afraid

They have proclaimed the right

to shoot you dead

 

When the Iceman cometh hide away

When the Iceman cometh bolt your door

When the Iceman cometh do not stray

When the Iceman cometh: war

 

* A play by Eugene O'Neill  

 

It Shouldn't Matter

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ICE

 

It Shouldn’t Matter

 

It shouldn’t matter that she was a mother

But it does

It shouldn’t matter that she was beloved

But it does

It shouldn’t matter that she was white

But it does

It shouldn’t matter that she was a citizen

But it does

It shouldn’t matter that she was a poet

But it does

It shouldn’t matter that she was trying

to do the right thing

But it does

 

She was a human being

That’s all that matters

She was trying to live a decent life

That’s all that matters

She stood in the way of injustice

That’s all that matters

She didn’t deserve to be shot down

Like a rabid dog

That too matters

She had a name: Renee Nicole Good

That matters

She had children

That matters

Her killing brings a torrent of tears

It shouldn’t matter but it does

 

 

ICE Cold Killer

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN JUSTICE

 

ICE Cold Killer

 

An alleged officer of the law

Drew his gun and killed her dead

The video footage may be raw

But it fill all decent folks with dread

 

They closed ranks and tried to blame her

For simply wanting to survive

As time goes on they’ll try to shame her

But someone filmed it live

 

Now we’re recalling George Floyd

And all that happened in his name

Our sense of justice was destroyed

A lasting legacy of shame

 

There is no peace across the land

It is a time of rage and strife

The evil ones have made a stand

Renee Good has lost her life

 

She was a mother and a friend

Tonight she is no longer

A precious life has found an end

The resistance must grow stronger

 

 

Trump's War of Choice

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: VENEZUELA

 

Trump’s War

 

The president said his piece

He did not mention democracy

On this war it’s plain to see

Maduro is not the beast

 

Trump is the aggressor

He has made it very clear

He’s collecting his investors

As the dominoes fall near

 

As the Epstein files uncoil

This is a war of choice

A war of politics and oil

In which the people have no voice

 

There will be a price to pay

In both blood and reputation

By the hand that we have played

We’ve become a lawless nation

 

This war will haunt us through the years

It will feed our enemies fuel

We have found our own King Lear

Who proved more foolish than his fool

 

When it all is written down

It is a nightmare without end

To this catastrophe we’re bound

Will this wound ever mend?

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

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