Showing posts with label Climate Change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Climate Change. Show all posts

Monday, July 31, 2023

Go North (The Great Migration)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE

 

Go North (Northward Migration)

 

There was a time in the long ago

When the young listened to the old

I know it’s hard to believe it so

The old were wise, the young were bold

 

Go west, young man! the old advised

Where the air is clean and fresh

Give up your aged and tattered ties

The future’s in the west

 

So westward bound they rose and went

With dreams of wealth and health in tow

The fortunes saved were often spent

The westward trek was long and slow

 

Now the cry goes out once more

To those who seek a brighter day

The only way to go is north

A place where kids can run and play

 

Go north, young man, where hope survives

Go north to breathe clean air

Go north to keep your dreams alive

Go north if you still dare

 


Saturday, July 29, 2023

Florida on Fire

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING


Florida on Fire

 

One hundred degrees at Manatee Bay

An ocean warmer than the air

Don’t leave you pleasant home today

Don’t swim unless you dare

 

The coral reefs are all but gone

Red Tide is everywhere

Still the guvnor works the con

If it doesn’t bleed, he doesn’t care

 

The ocean rise is coming down

Miami’s on the run

The sea will turn a stunning brown

Before the change is done

 

You may believe or not believe

The climate doesn’t care

Soon there will be no relief

It’s all too much to bear

 

Saturday, July 22, 2023

Somethings Gotta Give

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING


Somethings Gotta Give

 

Reservoirs filled to the tipping point

Snowpack primed to melt away

Too many men on a lifeboat

Too many who want to stay

We’re waiting for the next disaster

We’re trying our best to live

We all know what comes after

Something has got to give

 

And nobody knows when it will be

When the walls come crashing down

Like a ship of fools lost at sea

We vanish without a sound

 

The actress made her final film

She pushed her friends away

They saw just what was happening

And no one wanted to play

They were waiting for her final take

They prayed she would want to live

She ended it for goodness sake

She had nothing left to give

 

And nobody knows when it will be

When it all comes tumbling down

Like a ship of fools lost at sea

We’ll vanish without a sound

 

Thursday, July 13, 2023

Floods

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE


Floods

 

Disastrous floods from Vermont to Spain

I remember a time when we prayed for rain

Now we pray that the rain will cease

A planet in the throes of a strange disease

 

California suffered catastrophic drought

A summer of wildfires erased all doubt

Now the temperature rises after heavy rain

How this world ends is becoming plain

 

Shame on all those who denied the change

By now we all know you were deranged

You loved your profits far too much

On global warming you were out of touch

 

So where can we go to escape the wrath?

Too late to alter our unfortunate path

Too late for humanity to grow and thrive

Though the earth will endure and survive

 

Wednesday, June 07, 2023

Canadian Wildfires

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE


Canadian Wildfires

 

The smoke of Canadian wildfires

Rides the wind to the great northeast

The numbers run higher and higher

As the gods of destruction feast

The warnings so urgent and dire

The climate becomes the beast

 

When we cannot breathe the air

Without a mask to cover our face

You would think we’d agree everywhere

We are losing the climate change race

We don’t know how much we can bear

As we lose at an incredible pace

 

We know that the fires will spread

Each year as the temperatures rise

More and more of the land is dead

More and more of the wildlife dies

All because our future is wed

To a past of industrial lies

 

Monday, May 22, 2023

Mother Earth

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING


Mother Earth

 

It is not enough to plant a tree

We must restore the sanctity

Of Mother Earth and Father Sky

It is not enough to wonder why

We must change our point of view

Invent a way of living true

To what this world demands

It is time to take a stand

The poisons in our water

The rivers are our daughters

The mountains are our sons

They live to nourish everyone

We must measure what we’re worth

By what we do for Mother Earth

 

Monday, May 01, 2023

Mississippi Sprawl

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RIVER SERIES


Mississippi Sprawl (River Series)

 

They tried to tame the mighty river

To curb its mighty sprawl

But levees break and crumble

And mighty dams will fall

The mighty Mississippi is

The greatest of them all

 

The age of epic tragedy

Comes knocking at the door

Fire rain and thunder

A chain of monster storms

Too late to turn the tide

We watch the planet warm

We listen to her call

The mighty Mississippi is

The greatest of them all

 

The latest floods upon us

The Mississippi sprawl

We scramble to take cover

To make the flooding stall

But levees break and crumble

And mighty dams will fall

The mighty Mississippi is

The greatest of them all

 

Saturday, April 29, 2023

Pouring Rain

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE


Pouring Rain

Rain came down like a runaway train

Listen to the pouring rain

Listen to the pouring rain *

 

Listen to the rhythm of the pouring rain

A jackhammer of the gods

To the driving drumbeat of jazz

As you listen don’t you think it’s odd

That the earth needs so much cleansing?

Like a rusted-out bus that you keep in

the garage, the one that threw a rod

Back in nineteen sixty-nine

Back in the days of glory and youth

Back in the days of cheap red wine

When every day was a new adventure

When peace was the sign of the times

 

Rain came down like a runaway train

Listen to the pouring rain

Listen to the pouring rain

 

I’ve never heard a rain so hard

Seems like the sky is falling

Pounding on the roofs of homes

To remind us of a calling

Back to the glory days of youth

When the world was in our hands

Reminding us of a simple truth:

Take care of this sweet land

 

Listen to the pouring rain

Listen to the pouring rain

 

* Number Nine: The Adventures of Jake

Jones & Ruby Daulton

 

Sunday, April 16, 2023

Ft. Lauderdale Flood

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE


Fort Lauderdale Flood

 

Spring break in Fort Lauderdale

Shortened by a thousand-year downpour

That’s what they’re saying on the news

A thousand-year downpour

Like a sign of the apocalypse

I say how do they know?

Were they here a thousand years ago?

How’s about the weather Martha?

Bet your daddy didn’t warn you about this

They say its Goble Climb It Changed

They climbed up and couldn’t get down

Two feet of water on Main Street

A water slide through the middle of town

Can you believe it?

The Oldsmobile will never be the same

We ought to sell that damn thing

While it’s still worth the parking fee

Buy a rowboat for chrisakes

One darn thing after another

Helluva thing for chrisakes

Who’s idea was it to move down here?

Mine? Shows you what I know

The whole darn state can go to hell

And no one would even notice

 

Saturday, April 15, 2023

Before the Flood

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

 

Before the Flood

 

Remember Notre Dame before the fire

Remember New Orleans before the flood

Remember how things used to be

Before a series of calamities

Took away our muse

Swept away our sense of glory

Stole the very heart of magic

Absconded with our soul

 

We know nothing stays the same

Even memories must change

Yet we remember with our hearts

We see through our emotions

We remember how we felt when

We first set eyes upon the Mona Lisa

We remember our exhilaration upon seeing

The Grand Canyon or Stone Henge

We remember the strange sensation that

Ran through our spines when we observed

The burial site of Geronimo

Or the ghost dancers of Wounded Knee

We remember the awe that knock on our

Doors when we entered the chamber

Where Mozart once played

 

We will never forget how it was

Before the flood

Even if it wasn’t

 


Monday, April 03, 2023

The Year of Warming

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE


The Year of Warming

 

The year of warming has arrived

The year when everything changes

The year when diehard skeptics awaken

The year tornado alley became an expressway

from California to New Jersey

The year the Midwest became a wasteland

on the trail of mass destruction

The year the south became a cemetery

The year no one could escape the ravages

of global climate change

The year deniers were denied

 

We mourn the dead and suffering

We can no longer look away

The time for warning is over

The change is here to stay

 

(From the news: A swarm of tornadoes

hits eleven states, taking over 30 lives.)

 

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Tornado in LA

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE


Tornado in LA

 

The Cubs will win the pennant

The mime has something to say

Peace comes to the Middle East

A tornado hits LA

 

Las Vegas outlaws gambling

The slots will finally pay

McConnell becomes a Democrat

When a twister hits LA

 

Moscow will honor justice

Vampires inhabit the day

China will pay fair wages

When tornadoes come to LA

 

The bullies will be kind

The wanderer will stay

The fiend will leave it all behind

When a twister hits LA

 

The rich will pay their share

The jerk will change his ways

The meek will inherit the earth

When tornadoes come to LA

 

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Out of the Madness

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE


Out of the Madness

 

Out of the darkness ceaselessly soothing

Out of the madness calm as the waves

Out of the sadness endlessly moving

Out of the storm clouds end of the day

 

We are as normal men and women

Unfit to lead this wayward sphere

We march like lemmings to the sea

Never suspecting the end draws near

 

Out of the garden into the mire

Out of the wasteland into the maze

Out of the sunshine into the fire

Out of the jungle into the haze

 

We have the sense to end this mourning

We have the dream to show us the way

We have the means to heed the warnings

Will we have the will to turn night into day?

 

Out of the shadows dark as the night

Out of the prisons we keep in our heads

Out of the secrets beyond our sight

Out of the fears we take to our beds

 

(Re: Whitman’s Out of the Cradle…)

 

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Seven Ages of Dismal Woe

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

 

Seven Ages of Dismal Woe

(William Blake, The Book of Urizen)

 

How long must we wait for an end to

the seven ages of dismal woe?

 

How long must we wait for an end to war?

How long for an end to hunger and greed?

When does a hundred years of peace begin?

When does the nightmare end?

 

We have endured the age of never-ending war

We have survived the age of endless waste

We have witnessed the age of mass destruction

We have suffered the age of pandemic disease

We have observed the age inequality

We have endured the age of mass poverty

 

How much more can there be?

 

The seven ages of dismal woe

Have chronicled all of human history

Why and how we are still alive

Is the ultimate of mysteries