Housing Crisis in Spain

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SPAIN

 

Housing Crisis in Spain

 

Parliament has failed to pass

Legislation to remedy housing

Affordability to the working class

The people find arousing

 

PM Sanchez did what he could do

He’s called a snap election

Without support to see it through

His party faces mass defection

 

The world economy is under strain

Trade wars with the States

All remedies have been in vain

Too little and too late

 

The people march in protest

Some action must be taken

The government must invest

Or the workers are forsaken

 

This is the problem everywhere

The rich want ever more

Until their leaders start to care

The people’s voice will roar

 

The right to decent shelter

Should belong to everyone

Until then it’s helter skelter

The government is done

 

Russia V. NATO

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: NATO

 

Russia Versus NATO

 

As Russia threatens Europe’s land

The question will arise

Will America back the NATO ban

When missiles start to fly?

 

It is a simple question

That doesn’t have a simple answer

Has our leader learned a lesson

Or will he just engage in banter?

 

Would the US be expelled

From the free world’s great alliance?

When it’s clear that we have failed

In an act of pure defiance

 

An attack on one is an attack on all

So it says in Article Five

Will America be the first to fall

From the wall of the allied?

 

Putin seems determined

To test our strength of will

The Polish, French and Germans

Are feeling America’s chill

 

The world would realign

With the absence of our force

The future would unwind

On a strained and different course

 

 

Bravo Mark Carney!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CANADA

 

Bravo Mark Carney

 

Prime Minister Mark Carney

Stood tall and strong in the Hague

He declared his case for liberty

On the biggest European stage

 

The United States under Donald Trump

Has betrayed our closest allies

He faced a choice to take the lumps

Or to be stronger, smarter, wise

 

His word were proudly spoken

Of common principles and foundations

He spoke of his true devotion

To his people and his nation

 

Our president may forsake it

But he has pushed them to this act

Now he’ll have to grin and take it

Or accelerate his attack

 

Canada will stand up strong

They have given us fair warning

They’ve put up with him far too long

Now we awaken to a new morning

 

It’s the only way to deal with him

The biggest bully on the block

Rise up and his light will dim

He is running out the clock

 

A New Alliance

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CANADA

 

A New Alliance

 

America’s loss is Europe’s gain

(if America is the United States)

While our relationship is feeling strained

The Europeans are feeling great

 

Our president wants to own them

Convert them to the 51^st state

He regards them as a northern gem

If only they’d cooperate

 

Canada has a different notion

An alliance with another union

Terms of agreement are in motion

Soon the deal will be done

 

Europe’s gain is America’s loss

A wider sphere of influence

They want a partner, not a boss

A measure of their defiance

 

They’ll try again when Trump is gone

They are tired trying to please him

They’ll wait until the coming dawn

Til then they’ll just release him

 

A Dangerous Game

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: VLADIMIR PUTIN

      

A Dangerous Game

 

Putin thinks he is immune

To the consequence of his actions

He may learn very soon

Every action has a reaction

 

His attempted attack on Germany *

Though it failed to hit its mark

Was reckless beyond reckoning

For the fires it could spark

 

If Berlin is under attack

All of NATO is obliged

To strike the aggressor back

By invoking Article Five

 

He is playing a dangerous game

That could thrust the world into war

It’s further evidence he’s insane

He acts like a rabid boar

 

He will strike out in all directions

Without strategy or care

He would spread a grim infection

If it serves the Russian bear

 

It is time to rein him in

This has gone on far too long

In a war he will not win

The opposition must be strong

 

* Drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport

 

Berlin Beware!

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Berlin Beware!

 

The Neo-Nazis are gaining ground

In the land of the Fuhrer’s rise

Listen closely to that sound

As it rips the German sky

 

They may say it’s not white pride

But there’s no one else around

They are pushing it nation wide

To the Fatherland they are bound

 

Beware!

 

They have preached this line before

They want to make the nation great

They would welcome civil war

That would end in a Nazi state

 

Don’t let yourselves be fooled

They’re exactly what they seem

They’ll demand a white man rule

They’ll name it the German dream

 

Beware! 

 

They would pull you into the past

A time when Germany was disgraced

A people divided by race and class

Don’t be dragged into that place

 

 

A Dagger to the Heart

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

 

Dagger

 

Ukraine is desperate for supplies

Among them interceptors

To clear missiles from their skies

With defenders and detectors

 

But they were shipped to the Saud’s

To the Emirates and Bahrain

To defend against “the gods”

Instead of fighting for Ukraine

 

We let them fight the Russian beast

As if we didn’t have a stake

We helped Zelensky fight the least

We let go for Putin’s sake

 

We’re running short of munitions

All the experts will explain

Along with chronic indecision

We’ve betrayed brave Ukraine

 

And yet they found a way to fight

Against all odds with Europe’s aid

Knowing they were in the right

Knowing Trump was being played

 

Who among us did not see

That Netanyahu was insane?

This war for the Israelis

Is a dagger to the heart of Ukraine

 

 

Fire Wind and Rain

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

Fire Wind and Rain

 

The rain in Spain no longer falls

The south of France is burning

They’re building up their firewalls

The climate tide is turning

 

Waves of heat sweep overland

The winds are blowing strong

Again we’re forced to make a stand

But the nightmare will go on

 

We need to change our thinking

The places where we build

Our best laid plans are sinking

We are losing strength of will

 

What happens there will happen here

In face it’s happening today

As danger and destruction nears

We’ll be forced to move away

 

The ravages of mother earth

Are moving to the fore

We’ll have to measure what it’s worth

An end to every war

 

For we have a common enemy

We’ll need all of our resources

We’ll reassess our common needs

And unify our forces

 

Berlin Pride

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: INTOLERANCE

 

Berlin Pride

 

Berlin is no stranger

To an extremist point of view

The Germans recognize the danger

As few other nations do

 

When a man attacked a rally

That celebrated pride

They did not wait for a tally

Of those on the other side

 

Intolerance is wrong

No matter how it is painted

A nation only of the “strong”

We know well how it is tainted

 

Berlin will remain on guard

For acts of terror from the right

They have seen the racial card

In a most horrific light

 

It’s a reminder to us all

That the darkness lies in wait

Sometimes it is a wall

Sometimes we see it too late

 

For hate will find a home

Where it is allowed to grow

In Jerusalem or Rome

East Berlin and Chicago know

 

Andy Burnham on Downing Street

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GREAT BRITAIN

 

Andy Burnham on Downing Street

 

Keir Starmer has gone away

You might say we hardly knew him

He was anointed only yesterday

But the stiff demands outgrew him

 

Now Andy Burnham takes his place

At Number 10 Downing Street

Yet his manner has no grace

He will soon face his defeat

 

Great Britain has its homelessness

Its immigration and inflation

Its waning leadership in the west

A lost and wandering nation

 

It left the continent behind

Brexit fairly spelled its doom

One wonders what they had in mind

A future dimmed with gloom?

 

But the people wanted change

And change is what they got

The island nation is estranged

What you get is what you wrought

 

 

Apology to Spain

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: EUROPE

 

Apology to Spain

 

We apologize to Spain

For our president’s rude demand

Let’s make more than plain

That’s not the people’s stand

 

We value Spanish sovereignty

Her people and her place

Her legacy and dignity

Her balance and her grace

 

We know that Spain will not bow down

To our president’s command

She will proudly stand her ground

She will always lend a hand

 

All of Europe has her back

She will never stand alone

For the Union will not crack

No matter how much he groans

 

He is not the King of the West

Though he may believe he is

As our history will attest

The future is not his

 

(Trump demands an end to

trade with Spain)

 

Reluctant Ally (NATO)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: NATO

 

Reluctant Ally 

 

The alliance is no stronger

Than the weakest of her links

When common purpose is no longer

The alliance slowly sinks

 

We are a grudging ally

A partner from afar

The rules of conduct don’t apply

When this is where we are

 

He rails against all members

Who do not shower him with praise

Every slight he will remember

His fickle mood becomes a craze

 

He pleads for their assistance

In a losing cause of war

When faced with strong resistance

We can hear his hollow roar

 

It comes down to the Strait

He can’t believe it isn’t ours

The alliances must wait

As we recalculate the powers

 

If the US does not lead

The vacuum will be filled

Europe’s working at light speed

With renewed strength of will

 

 

Starmer Steps Down

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Starmer Steps Down

 

Who would have guessed?

Touched by the Epstein scandal

Even Starmer had to confess

It was more than the Brits could handle

 

Will the Labour Party fall

In their former leader’s wake?

They will answer to Burnham’s call *

To take on Farage’s quake *

 

Will the Kingdom turn rightwing?

Will they try that path again?

They would promise most anything

To depart from where they’ve been

 

It seems the British are indecisive

They don’t quite know where to turn

Every policy seems divisive

Systemic change is what they yearn

 

Embrace Europe or stay apart?

Increase distance from the States?

Where is the Kingdom’s heart?

Where lies the British fate?

 

Hold on to your convictions

Don’t let them pull you down

Here is a bold prediction

Labour holds its ground

 

* Andy Burnham, Labour MP

* Nigel Farage, Reform Party

 

(Keir Starmer resigns as British PM)

 

The Silence of America

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  UKRAINE

 

The Silence of America

 

As Russia launched a devastating attack

Into the beating heart of Ukraine

Zelensky pleaded with the world to strike back

To make their collective outrage plain

 

London, Berlin and the European Union

Condemned the blatant escalation

The free world stood in communion

All except one lonely nation

 

The silence of America was loud

Like a shot in the quiet of night

Vladimir Putin must have been proud

He has silenced America’s might

 

The world must revise its alliance

NATO and all free nations

In light of America’s silence

They can hardly expect salvation

 

They know that this can’t last forever

This aversion to freedom’s cause

The nation from its roots is severed

Not forever but just for a pause

 

America will be herself again

We can only wait and pray

Greater than we’ve ever been

A nation that will not stray