The Escalator

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

The Escalator

 

It’s personal now

An explosion next to the coastal home

Of Benjamin Netanyahu

A drone directed by Hezbollah

With the fingerprints of Iran

It marks a new phase of the war: 

 

Calculated and deliberate assassination

The escalator of war is rising

Israel has killed the leader of Hezbollah

Israel has killed the leader of Hamas

Israel has leveled Gaza

Israel has struck inside Lebanon and Iran

The borders no longer apply

The limits no longer operate

We have reached new heights of warfare

And the escalator still rises

 

A year ago peace seemed possible

The Saudis were prepared to recognize

The sovereign Israeli state

Now they move closer to Iran

Now the Israelis are outcast

Iran is the defender of Gaza

Iran is the defender of Lebanon

And still the escalator rises

 

There is no end to war

The escalator rises

And we cannot find the door

 

Sinwar is Dead

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL / GAZA

Sinwar is Dead

 

The beast who unleashed the Gaza War

Lies dead on the streets of terror

There are those who give cheer

There are those who will mourn

We have seen this like before

We must pray this will bring

And end to our fears

It’s a reason to fight no more

 

The hostages remain in captivity

In the depths of the hidden earth

We must hope there is a proclivity

For whatever it is worth

To release them now from their hold

To give peace a new chance at birth

 

There are people of faith on both sides

Who desire this war to end

There are those who want to fight on

To their rage we should not bend

There has been far too much suffering

There are actions we cannot defend

We appeal to your basic empathy

Bring this war to an end

 

(Yahya Sinwar killed by the IDF.)

 

Allez Macron!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Allez Macron!

 

Amidst the paralyzing indifference

As the horrors spread in the Middle East

From Gaza to the West Bank to Lebanon

At the hands of the Israeli beast

 

One man rises in the heart of Europe

To say what must be said

We cannot stand by indifferently

Until ten thousand more are dead

 

He proposes a weapons embargo

To stop the spread of this bloody war

If the Israelis continue on this path

It will soon be at our door

 

Netanyahu is reeling desperately

All he wants is blood and more

It will take a unity of nations

To end this endless war

 

We all must be accountable

For the horrors he has unleashed

What began as just retribution

Has become a bloodletting feast

October 7th

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GAZA WAR

October 7^th

 

One year ago this very day

A monster was unleashed

Against a freedom loving people

Ending hope of a lasting peace

 

In the shadow of those darkest hours

The blood of innocence was spilled

Those who rose against the powers

By the hundreds were cruelly killed

 

There was an evil in the air

There was a darkness of the soul

The good at heart no longer cared

They lost what made them whole

 

It seems the world has gone to hell

In a war that has no end

We’ve fallen under an evil spell

That in truth we can’t defend

 

We must find another better way

This kind of horror cannot go on

We must temper all this zealous hate

The way of war is always wrong

 

As Election Day Draws Near

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Election Day (Clear Choice)

 

If you believe in a right to choose

The choice is absolutely clear

Down the line your vote is blue

As election day draws near

 

If you believe in a free Ukraine

An untethered Putin you should fear

The truth is absolutely plain

As election day draws near

 

If you want to end the Gaza war

If the genocide draws your tears

There’s only one way to close that door

As election day draws near

 

If you favor our democracy

If the founders you hold dear

If you don’t want an autocracy

The choice is very clear

 

If you believe in labor rights

Your choice is very clear

Who stands beside you in your fight

As election day draws near?

 

If you fear the planet’s warming

As the phony naysayers jeer

If you find the giant storms alarming

Your choice is beyond clear

 

Come November 5: Vote!

 

Stop the War!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

Stop the War (Letter to Biden)

 

Mister President

You are still the president

As Netanyahu expands the war

With his attacks on Lebanon

With his threats against Iran

You are the only one on earth

Who can stop this madness

You have the key to Israeli power

Though you have sworn not to use it

Netanyahu is taunting you

Daring you to act

He does not believe you will do it

He’s got you in a vice

How long can this go on?

How far can he push you?

In the name of peace

In the name of justice

Withhold funding for Israel

Withhold weapons and military aid

Do it in small increments

Then larger and larger still

Secure the remaining hostages

Secure the Israeli people

Secure Palestine a future

By removing Netanyahu from

His place of ultimate power

You will pave the road to peace

It will take political courage

It will involve risk

But there is no other way

 

People of Israel Rising

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL/GAZA

People of Israel Rising

 

The people of Israel are rising

Fed up with your dirty war

Fed up with your phony efforts

Sickened to their very core

 

They’re tired of supporting you

You think you’re so damn clever

Without regard for what you do

You want a war to fight forever

 

You’ll always have another reason

As the blood flows down the streets

Another war for every season

Your anger fuels the heat

 

Bring all your people home today

The people you did not defend

It doesn’t matter what you say

It is time for your war to end

 

The people are your masters

Not the other way around

Your way has been a great disaster

Have the courage to step down

 

Bebe's War

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

Bebe’s War

 

It is not the thing itself

It’s the timing of the thing itself

With the Middle East ready to explode

With a ceasefire in negotiations

With a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza

With Hezbollah firing rockets from Lebanon

Netanyahu orders a strike in Tehran

Inviting a broader war

A war engaging the world’s powers

 

Israel has a right to defend herself

Israel has a right to kill those responsible

For the October 7^th attack

Targeted assassination was the proper

Response to the assault

But to wait until Gaza is decimated

To wait until tens of thousands are dead

Homes, schools, hospitals destroyed

To wait for mass starvation

 

Netanyahu has left us no doubt

This war will go on and on

As long as he is still in power

This is Bebe’s war

And Bebe’s war has no end

While We Looked Away

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GAZA

While We Looked Away

 

Obsessed with the president’s age

And a failed assassination

A celebration on the stage

A christening of the nation

And while we looked away

The Gaza annihilation

Accelerated every day

 

This is how our world runs

The revolving cycle of the news

That which titillates and stuns

It comes in threes and twos

And when we look away

We never have a clue

The ghouls come out to play

It’s sad but it is true

 

Keep your eyes on the prize

The demons never rest

Through all the righteous lies

We will welcome our new guest

And while we look away

The destruction of Gaza

Proceeds every day

 

Like a story from a tragic book

A tale of blood and rage

We do not want to look

At the horrors of our age

So when we look away

We know what they will do

In Gaza and Ukraine

It’s sad but it is true

The Dead of Nuseirat

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

The Dead of Nuseirat

 

Two hundred dead in Nuseirat

Four Israeli hostages freed

Were they all Hamas terrorists?

Women and children?

Nits make fleas?

 

What are we to believe?

What is the cost of rescue

If we lose our immortal soul?

Two hundred dead in Nuseirat

The justification leaves me cold

 

I know Hamas is guilty

They should never be forgiven

They set this train in motion

They must be made accountable

But Hamas is not Gaza

Gaza is not Hamas

You push them into a corner

And blame them for being trapped

 

The innocent of Nuseirat

Did not deserve to die

 

Disproportionate Retribution

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GAZA

Disproportionate Retribution

 

During the October 7^th outrage

Hundreds were taken as hostages

Men were tortured and women raped

Thirteen hundred innocents were killed

 

In the ensuing war against Palestine

Nearly 40 thousand Gazans died

Nine thousand West Bank Palestinians

taken as leverage or punishment

Men and children beaten; women raped

Journalists killed and detained

 

Martial law is in effect

Israeli soldiers do as they please

Those who live in the Gaza Strip

Have been pushed from north to south

where they are cornered and trapped

Displaced from their homes

They run, they hide, the beg for mercy

Yet Israel has none to give

Netanyahu has executed mercy

Netanyahu has extinguished good will

Netanyahu has exterminated hope

At best it is disproportionate retribution

At worst it is genocide

At least it is unforgivable sin

Human Tragedies

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

Human Tragedies

 

The wasteland from Texas to Missouri

mirrors the destruction from Gaza to Ukraine.

 

One is born of a human failure to learn and

understand how separate and distinct peoples

can live together in peace.

 

The other is born of a human failure to

understand and learn how our behavior

bears tragic consequences.

 

Until we learn how to accept our differences

without wanting to destroy each other we will

continue to foment wars of growing mass

destruction.

 

Until we learn that pumping toxic waste

into our atmosphere distorts and corrupts

the natural processes of climate and extreme

weather we will continue to suffer ever greater

climate catastrophes. 

 

Differences in beliefs, religions, cultures, and

philosophies are natural and appropriate; the desire

to annihilate others and take their lands based on

those differences is unnatural, morbid and devoid

of basic humanity. 

 

Tornadoes, hurricanes and tidal waves are

natural if unfortunate; monster storms and

a chain of twisters five hundred miles long

are unnatural and a testament to human greed

and obstinacy.

 

If we are to choose humanity and nature over

greed and avarice, we must alter our behaviors

and beliefs to create a better world for all the

earth’s inhabitants.

Extermination (Rafah)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

Extermination (Rafah)

 

And so it begins

The final assault

Extermination of the enemy

The bombardment of the last stronghold

The laying of waste

They were cornered here like vermin

Pushed and herded here like goats

Here it ends

 

Here amidst the rubble of a once great city

Here in this landscape of destruction

Where mothers once gathered to gossip

While their children played

Where men followed footsteps to work

Where kids walked to school

Impoverished but not poor

 

Who but god and Netanyahu knew

That this would be the end …

But it is not the end

It is only another beginning

In the endless cycle of revenge

 

Shallow Victory

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GAZA & UKRAINE

Shallow Victory

 

He believes that he will win

If only he stays the course

History will not record the

Horrors of these immoral wars

 

In the past there may be truth

The victor writes the story

But the old no longer holds

The oppressor gains no glory

 

We’ll remember what you did

As long as there are sorrow’s tears

The fiction lasts a moment

The truth endures the years

 

You are the villain of the tale

The enemy of global peace

Of all the leaders in this world

You are the ones admired least

 

If that to you is victory

Enjoy it while it lasts

An empty cup upon the shelf

Devoid of all class

 

In truth there is a place for you

Where all villains have a seat

The ones who proclaim victory

Who will go down in defeat

 

(for Putin and Netanyahu)

O Israel

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

O Israel

 

O Israel you break my heart

You rose up to oppose autonomy

Before this tragedy struck

You rose to demand democracy

A free press and independent judiciary

You rose up in opposition

To the enemies of lasting peace

 

O Israel it breaks my heart

That all your efforts are forgotten now

Subverted by the great revenge

The horrific blood vengeance campaign

Inflicted in your name

 

O Israel reclaim your nation

Regain your pride and standing

Let the world know this is not your nature

Let us see again your compassion

Let the good people of Israel rise to

Stop the endless bloodshed

 

Just as Hamas is not Gaza

Netanyahu is not Israel

Shalom