The Secret State

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

The Secret State

 

You put him in power

To get rid of the fat

The useless abusers

Not the harmless bureaucrats

They said they would rid you

Of the secret, deep state

The unelected elites

That control the nation’s fate

 

Now look who’s in charge

Every minute and hour

They’ve taken up residence

In the executive tower

They make the decisions

They pull all the strings

They sound the alarms

Just to see if they ring

We had no deep state

But now that we do

They’ll tear down democracy

The joke is on you

 

Social Security?

Medicare and Medicaid?

Just wait til you see

The plans that they’ve laid

Environmental protection?

Who cares about that?

Get rid of it all

They’ll just call it fat

Educating the poor?

The ones who can’t pay

Throw it out with the trash

And call it a day

Freedom of speech?

The right to exist?

They’ll answer to that

With a hammer and fist

 

Is this what you wanted?

Nobody cares

In the politics of war

Everything’s fair

 

Don't Swim in the Seine

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RIVER SERIES

Swimming in the Seine

 

There are many things that you can do

Like singing in the rain

Like driving down a lonely road

Or strolling down a country lane

You can take a trip to Iceland

You can spend some time in Spain

You can say or do a million things

And do them once again

But you can’t swim in the Seine

 

For the river is a toxic stew

It would surely make you ill

You might survive the poisoning

If you take a magic pill

You might do it if you dared

But the wiser will refrain

There’s a world of awe in Paris

It’s a place where one has been

But don’t swim in the Seine

 

You can walk down Champs Elysees

You can visit Musee d’Orsay

Bow down before the Arc de Triomphe

Pay your respect to Notre Dame

You cannot miss la Tour Eiffel

Nor the grace of Pere Lachaise

The Louvre is filled with wonders

You can share them with a friend

But you can’t swim in the Seine

 

Poisoned Water

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ENVIRONMENT

Poisoned Water

 

What is the cost of poisoned water?

They ask with a crooked smile

Have you lost a son or daughter?

Should we wait a little while?

Should we pretend it’s all okay?

We’ve been drinking it so long

We don’t know any other way

If our children grow up strong

That’s the price we have to pay

What we don’t know can’t harm

So keep us in the dark

We’ll live in blissful charm

There’s no flame without a spark

We’ll live our lives in peace

And yes some of us will die

We’ll pray for them on their release

And we’ll never wonder why