Olympian Values

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Olympian Values

 

Watching the American Olympic team

I am reminded of our virtue

We are a diverse lot

People of all shapes and sizes

Colors and distinctions

Black, white, yellow and brown

Blend in a tapestry of excellence

We are America!

USA! USA! USA!

What others consider weakness

Has always been our strength

We exemplify the Olympic spirit

We bring it all to life

The Olympics bring together

Athletes from around the globe

Dedicated to the brotherhood of competition

Committed to crowning glory

Without regard to race or culture

We are the world

We are the Olympic spirit

We are its diversity, its excellence and its wonder

USA! USA! USA!

Never lose sight of those values

Hold on to the dream

 

A Woman with a Brain

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

A Woman with a Brain

 

They say she’s not genuine

They say her laugh is like a crane

They say she lacks bravado

They say she’s borderline insane

But the truth is they’re afraid

Of a woman with a brain

 

She is their worst nightmare

Their minds explode in pain

You see it in their expressions

So exhausted and so strained

They’re shaking at the thought

Of a woman with a brain

 

Watch them squirm and wiggle

Like a worm in the rain

They’re pretending to be outraged

When the truth is very plain

They are terrified of facing

A woman with a brain

 

They’ve tried a lot of tactics

Tried them all in vain

They might as well pack them up

And drive them down the lane

The truth is getting nearer

To home but in the main

Kamala has them quaking

A woman with a brain

 

The Way it Was

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: EQUALITY

The Way it Was

 

I remember when there were no gays

High school kids showered together

There was no other way

 

I remember when the minorities

The blacks and browns and Asians

Lived in their own neighborhoods

Went to the same schools

They weren’t the best neighborhoods

They were broken down houses

And secondhand schools

But as far as we knew

(and as far as we know today)

They liked it that way

 

I remember when the boys got all the glory

The girls were their cheerleaders

Boys ran for president

Girls were secretaries

Men got bigger paychecks

Women were their servants

Men did the “hard” jobs

Women ran the home

Men did all the talking

Women didn’t have much to say

For all we knew and know

They liked it that way

 

I remember when it was cool to say

I’m free white and twenty-one

We were the chosen ones

We were the privileged ones

The world revolved around us

And that was okay

As far as we knew and know

We all like it that way

 

The John Lewis Bridge

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: EQUAL RIGHTS

The John Lewis Bridge

 

Edmund Pettus was a leader of the KKK

They named a bridge after him

And on that bridge years later

They beat the hell out of black marchers

Marching for equal rights

Marching for the right to vote

Marching to be recognized

 

In an enlightened age there would be

no Edmund Pettus Bridge

It would be torn down stone by stone

Iron beam by iron beam

Scattered across the nation

Placed in museums and town halls

to remind us of our former ignorance

 

Instead let us remove the name of

Edmund Pettus and replace it with

one of the brave souls beaten on that

fateful day: The John Lewis Bridge

 

Let it be remembered by all who cross

the price that was paid that day

 

Let it serve as a reminder of the triumph

of the human spirit

The power of light over the darkness

Of good over evil