The Rise of Gen Z

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

The Rise of Gen Z

 

It rises from the internet

From the darkness of the web

The mold is cast and set

To the cry of Johnny Reb

 

From Madagascar to Sri Lanka

From the Philippines to Nepal

It comes down against corruption

Warning up against the wall!

 

It has no leaders or philosophy

At least that’s what we’re told

It moves ahead with lightning speed

And stuns when it unfolds

 

It turned the tide in Kathmandu

It caught fire in Paraguay

With the flames of angry youth

Demanding fundamental rights

 

You didn’t listen to them before

You might want to listen now

They don’t want your stupid wars

And their voice is growing loud

 

They stand as Generation Z

Their time has now arrived

Their cry is spreading like a weed

Their word is carried far and wide

 

Police State Portland

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POLICE STATE

 

Police State Portland

 

What’s going down in Portland?

Is the city hall on fire?

Are the citizens under siege?

Or is the president a liar?

 

Portland is a city of love

The people do not want war

They believe in peaceful protest

They desire to help the poor

 

There are no riots on the streets

There is no wave of crime

They’re simply marching to the beat

In opposition to brutal times

 

They do not like the president

But they’re not planning a coup d’etat

A lot of their people live in tents

But they’ll uphold the people’s law

 

They don’t need your law’n order

They don’t need your armored cars

Why don’t you send them to the border

Better yet, send them to Mars

 

What about Epstein?

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: EPSTEIN FILES

 

What about Epstein?

 

You got Ghislaine out of her cell

And into a prisoner’s dream

What was a sentence in hell

Is more like a gentle scream

You discounted the words of prosecutors

And women when they were teens

You’ll talk about most anything

But not about Jefferey Epstein

 

So you fired Kimmel and Colbert

It can’t be so, feels like a dream

The president doesn’t control the air

How could it be? What does it mean?

The sky is gray and the sea is green

And oh yeah, what about Epstein?

 

So much to learn, so little time

It feels like a slow-moving stream

I’ve a longing for the world sublime

But the river is getting mean

You’d like us all to fall in line

To wipe all that history clean

You’ll go your way, I’ll go mine

But what about Jeffery Epstein?

 

Last Best Stand

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Last Best Stand

 

We don’t know what the future holds

We’ll do the best we can

Be strong, my friend, be true, be bold

For this may be the last best stand

 

The warning bells have sounded now

We’re sound in our positions

We’re dreamers yet we’re grounded now

We’re poets and magicians

 

We’re called upon to hold our ground

It’s a battle set in stone

We’re sworn to never let you down

Though we may stand alone

 

This is the path we’re given

Though we want to cause no harm

We’re desperate and we’re driven

But they are better armed

 

They have their money and their guns

We have what we can carry

Until the battle’s lost or won

On this ground we’ll be buried

 

The Great Extortionist

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: FREE SPEECH

 

The Great Extortionist

 

The corporate world has taken its stand

To oblige the wannabe dictator

Now it’s up to every woman and man

To put them through the grater

 

CBS fired their late-night host

At the urging of our president

A shot heard loud from coast to coast

We knew exactly what it meant

 

ABC was quick to can their man

On the shallow side of pretense

They’re sure that we will understand

The bottom line is their defense

 

Now B & J is going down

Yielding to the rightwing pressure

Soon there will be none around

For our entertainment pleasure

 

This is how our grand republic ends

With a constant push and shove

On the next election we’ll depend

With some help from the stars above

 

(Jimmy Kimmel fired and reinstated.)

 

Remember the Fallen

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: VIOLENCE

 

Remember the Fallen

 

We lament the killing of Charlie Kirk *

As we mourn Melissa Hortman **

Both were killed for political work

By a crazed individual assassin

 

One is no greater than the other

No lesser by any means

One was a sister, the other a brother

And both were human beings

 

Both were martyred to their cause

Remember them for who they were

Despite whatever human flaws

This fate they did not deserve

 

There is far too much hatred and rage

In this world of growing extremes

We are entering a desperate violent age

We should grasp just what that means

 

High powered weapons in dangerous hands

Are a problem we all must address

Take a vow to do whatever you can

To make these dangers less

 

And lower the volume of discontent

Accept that we can disagree

Interpret kindly what others meant

Try not to plant the seed

 

*   assassinated in Utah

** assassinated in Minnesota

 

Pravda

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

 

Pravda

 

We have become what we despise

The media is bought and sold

We embrace the golden leader’s lies

Our sense of decency grows cold

 

We are the shining silver tower

Money is the voice that speaks

We are the ones who worship power

The ship of state has sprung a leak

 

We do not miss our freedom here

We sent it on a ship to sea

We hold our leader very dear

And that alone’s enough for me

 

There is one truth for everyone

They hand it to us every day

We have the right to own a gun

The other rights we gave away

 

From this time forward we are one

One voice, one vote, one truth

We praise the glory of the sun

Who needs a voting booth?

 

McCarthy Lives

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: FREE SPEECH

 

McCarthy Lives

 

Because we have forgotten

We are condemned to live the past

A time when government turned rotten

All citizens should be aghast

 

It was known as the Great Red Scare

The Bill of Rights was suspended

Speak out boldly if you dare

The right to speak has been amended

 

Are you now or have you ever

Been a member of the party not in power?

Then your rights are hereby severed

As of this day this very hour

 

When we’re afraid to speak our minds

For fear of dire consequences

Then our democracy is blind

Building walls and erecting fences

 

They’re building prisons for us now

In the name of law and order

Don’t know when, don’t know how

But they will drag us to the border

 

Assassin's Bullet

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: VIOLENCE IN AMERICA

 

Assassin’s Bullet

 

We disagree on so many things

From defending Ukraine to building a wall

From whether angels really do have wings

To whom will be the next to fall

But we can agree on this one thing:

An assassin’s bullet is against us all

 

The powerful weapon that took him down *

Should never be allowed

Not on a safe and sacred ground

Nor a place with an assembled crowd

We wonder what the assassin found

That shamed or made him proud

That made his mind unsound

 

Whatever else can be said

That will move our hearts or stir our rage

A man who lived now is dead

He has left the living stage

He leaves behind the ones he loved

To suffer through this violent age

The soaring hawk, the lonesome dove

No more will he engage

 

* Charlie Kirk in Utah

 

Extrajudicial Killing

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN JUSTICE

 

Extrajudicial Killing

 

They announced a major victory

In the war against cartels

They killed eleven on the open sea

Then they rang the victory bell

 

Who among us would dare ask

Where is the evidence?

Were they wearing cartel masks?

Were their narco dollars spent?

 

Do we claim the right to kill

Without just and righteous cause?

Anyone we can and will

Without protection of the law?

 

You tell us they were terrorists

Importing killer drugs

Were their names on the terror list?

Are there photos of their mugs?

 

Is the law not for others?

Are you the ones who will decide?

Justice for one but not another?

Protections only for our side

 

This is a fundamental wrong

One that cannot be denied

It belies the weak, not strong

The day that justice lied

 

(US blows up a speedboat off the

coast of Venezuela.)

 

America the Free

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

America the Free

 

This is not the Philippines

Where Duterte had his reign

We know what independence means

We will not be restrained

 

This is not Beijing

Where they have an iron fist

Where freedom has no meaning

Where they keep an enemies list

 

This is not the Kremlin

Where Putin is their king

Where dissenters are imprisoned

Where elections are a sting

 

This is not Pyongyang

In service to dear leader

When Lady Liberty rang

They replied they didn’t need her

 

This is the land of liberty

America the free

Where individuality

Belongs to you and me

 

This is the land of light

No man above the law

Where fundamental rights

Are not considered flaws

 

Where everyone is free

To speak as they will speak

To be what they would be

To seek what they would seek

 

 

Cooking the Books

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

 

Cooking the Books

 

If you don’t like the message

Kill the messenger

If you don’t like the numbers

Cook the books

 

Pretty soon you’ve got no messengers

Pretty soon there are only sycophants

Bobble headed yes men

Afraid to tell the truth

 

The war is lost, your majesty.

Off with his head!

Your program is a travesty.

Take a pill and go to bed!

 

He’s a mob boss not a king

He rules by fear and terror

If he wants to wear a ring

You will be the ring bearer

 

What kind of man is this?

To tell us how we feel

He may tell us this is bliss

But we know it isn’t real

 

(Trump fires head of the

Bureau of Labor Statistics)

 

Defending Democracy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Defending Democracy

 

Defending democracy is a fulltime job

It cannot be taken for granted

Its enemies will cheat and rob

Make sure your staff is planted

 

They’re coming after the voting place

They’re sending out their brutes

They’ll make it hard to win the race

They’re thugs in designer suits

 

They’ll attack anyone who opposes them

From the powerful to the local mayor

They’ll rip you up from root to stem

If you ask them, they don’t care

 

Stealing the vote is an old tradition

On both sides of the aisle

Every voter must now take a position

Is democracy still in style?

 

The right to vote is no longer given

The Supreme Court gave it away

We must be grim and hardline driven

To keep what our founders gave

 

Winning our Nation Back

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Winning our Nation Back

 

Remember who you voted for?

Is this what you demanded?

We ought to show you to the door

You should be reprimanded

 

Soldiers on the city streets

A steady increase in inflation

Scorn for everyone you meet

An authoritarian nation

 

They’re ruling with an iron fist

There is no law and order

We’re breathing in a toxic mist

Fixation on the border

 

They’re finding ways to fix the vote

To steal the next election

They’re hiding guns beneath their coats

It’s heading that direction

 

If you want to take our country back

Please know it won’t be easy

Their train is sliding off the tracks

They’re brutal and they’re sleezy

 

So get ready for a vicious fight

They will go to any measure

They don’t believe in doing right

Brutality gives them pleasure

 

The Cycle

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: MASS SHOOTINGS

 

The Cycle

 

Killing children in Minneapolis

The vicious cycle repeats

The cycle of the irrational

The cycle is never complete

 

Killing children in Gaza

The cycle of killing goes on

The deliberate killing of journalists

The infinite cycle of wrong

 

The cycle of endless violence

We hear the tired voices

Calls for prayer, moments of silence

We’re left without any choices

 

We pray to the second amendment

To protect us from all harm

With guns we live in contentment

While we fail to raise alarm

 

The cycle goes on forever

As we live in a world of hate

If the right to arms is revered

The cycle is our fate