Remember Gaza

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GAZA

 

Remember Gaza

 

Gaza is a pile of rubble

With a hundred thousand dead

If you live inside the bubble

There are no more tears to shed

 

There is no peace on the strip

There is only misery

No one is planning a Gaza trip

Except those recording history

 

It is a tragic tale of genocide

That the world has forgotten

The Israelis take it all in stride

The promises that might have been

 

We remember the first attack

It was horrific beyond belief

Yet the horrors fade to black

As the people seek relief

 

They’ve planned a beachside paradise

But there’s something in the way

The Gazans must be sacrificed

Very few of them can stay

 

Luminaries of Peace

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Luminaries of Peace

 

Never has there been

Such a luminous group of men

Dedicated to the cause of peace

From Pakistan to the Middle East

 

They’ve all put up a stake

A pact they’ve promised not to break

From Hungary’s Orban

To Mohammed bin Salman

And Turkey’s infamous Erdogan

From Pakistan’s Zardari to Javier Milei

They take their parts in Donald’s play

 

Did I mention Subianto?

There may be others we don’t know

The notorious MBZ

And bin Hamad the Qatari

And oh yes, Netanyahu

Who has yet to pay his dues

All gather around their chair

The heavyweight with golden hair

 

He is seated in perpetuity

To collect his grand annuities

As he greets them at the door

They will put an end to war

 

 

Trump’s Board of Peace:

Javier Milei, Argentina

Viktor Orban, Hungary

Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia

Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan

Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia

Recep Erdogan, Turkey

Mohamed bin Zayed (MBZ), UAE

Tamom bin Hamad, Qatar

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel

 

No Peace

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

No Peace

 

There is no peace in Syria

where forever war still reigns

in Yemen or Nigeria

where war’s an old refrain

 

In Gaza there’s no peace

in Israel or Ukraine

in Russia there’s a beast

whose war is now ingrained

 

There is no peace in Pakistan

the old war rages on

no peace in Afghanistan

the Taliban is not gone

 

There’s no peace in any nation

where the iron fist is strong

there is no celebration

where everything is wrong

 

There is no peace in India

in China or Taiwan

in Asia or in Africa

in Thailand or Saigon

 

There is no peace in Paris

in Berlin or Brazil

as long as terror scares us

the threat of war is real

 

 

No More Tears

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

 

No More Tears

 

A torrent of rain

So many people dead

From Gaza to Ukraine

No more tears to shed

 

The wars keep raging on

More hatred being bred

The fire in Hong Kong

No more tears to shed

 

The unsheltered army grows

The hungry are not fed

No jackets or warm clothes

No more tears to shed

 

A murder in the capitol

Our strength is being bled

Our promises grow cold

There’s no more tears to shed

 

The retribution tour

The sky is turning red

A smell like a sewer

We’ve no more tears to shed

 

We’re tired and we’re old

The end is drawing near

Our rights are being sold

But we have no more tears

 

 

The Illusionist

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP DAZE

 

The Illusionist

 

He creates a stunning façade

All that glitters is not gold

He perceives himself a god

His magic sparkling and bold

 

He vanquished part of the White House

Gone in rubble and dust

He will stage a spectacular roust

Shazam! There goes all trust!

 

But the Gaza destruction goes on

The wars he stopped were never there

Putin still strings him along

And the markets are chasing the bear

 

He instigates violence in the cities

He creates an illusion of order

The illusion is quick and pretty

He should use it on the southern border

 

He pretends that everything’s grand

He celebrates before it’s done

Have a party, strike up the band

Once again the king has won

 

But all he’s done is not real

He just spins his webs of illusion

A toss of the great spinning wheel

When he’s done there’s mass confusion

 

The War Must End

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR

 

The War Must End

 

The people of Gaza are tired of war

The Israeli people must bend

Let the waves of hatred be no more

It is time for the war to end

 

The Russian people have had their fill

Too long the Ukrainians defend

Their leaders must swallow a bitter pill

It is time for the war to end

 

Yet Putin will never give up the fight

As long as his pride depends

As long as the people believe he’s right

This war will never end

 

The Israelis will bomb to the end of days

As long as there’s money to spend

Their destructive might is on display

And the war will never end

 

When the Russian people are ready for peace

This message they will send

Putin’s vengeance must finally cease

It’s time for the war to end

 

When the Israeli people are ready for peace

This message they will send

Netanyahu’s war must finally cease

It is time for the war to end

 

As long as vengeance rules the day

The wounds of war will not mend

Subversion will always find a way

And the wars will never end

 

Netanyahu Stands Alone

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

 

Netanyahu Stands Alone

 

Woe be unto Israel

Leave this man at home

You need not be his keeper

Netanyahu stands alone

 

The harm that he has done

The people must atone

Woe be unto Israel

Netanyahu stands alone

 

Vengeance is his mission

A bomb for every stone

Sewing hard divisions

Netanyahu stands alone

 

The death toll rises every day

Mournful mothers moan

Searching for another way

Netanyahu stands alone

 

So many dead and buried

Piles of flesh and bones

The burden you must carry

Netanyahu stands alone

 

(Netanyahu comes to the UN.)

 

Last Best Stand

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Last Best Stand

 

We don’t know what the future holds

We’ll do the best we can

Be strong, my friend, be true, be bold

For this may be the last best stand

 

The warning bells have sounded now

We’re sound in our positions

We’re dreamers yet we’re grounded now

We’re poets and magicians

 

We’re called upon to hold our ground

It’s a battle set in stone

We’re sworn to never let you down

Though we may stand alone

 

This is the path we’re given

Though we want to cause no harm

We’re desperate and we’re driven

But they are better armed

 

They have their money and their guns

We have what we can carry

Until the battle’s lost or won

On this ground we’ll be buried

 

Pariah

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

 

Pariah (for the people of Israel)

 

Remember the cry of Jeremiah

Who prophesied a cruel fate

You would become a pariah

For the sins of the Israeli state

 

You are descendant of Jedidiah

Who turned against the north

Who then became his own pariah

Whose cruelty called forth

 

The end of days for humankind

A legacy of blood and war

The prophecies will fall in line

As the Beast of Yafo roars

 

It’s time to hear that cry again

To heed that warning call

Repent for cruel and callous sins

Or the state of Israel will fall

 

No one wants to see that fall

Or to hear the angels moan

The crumbling of the ancient wall

When Israel stands alone

 

The Cycle

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: MASS SHOOTINGS

 

The Cycle

 

Killing children in Minneapolis

The vicious cycle repeats

The cycle of the irrational

The cycle is never complete

 

Killing children in Gaza

The cycle of killing goes on

The deliberate killing of journalists

The infinite cycle of wrong

 

The cycle of endless violence

We hear the tired voices

Calls for prayer, moments of silence

We’re left without any choices

 

We pray to the second amendment

To protect us from all harm

With guns we live in contentment

While we fail to raise alarm

 

The cycle goes on forever

As we live in a world of hate

If the right to arms is revered

The cycle is our fate

 

Legitimizing the Occupation

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL

 

Legitimizing the Occupation

 

The Israelis stand alone

They wish to own the Gaza Strip

The bitterness has only grown

Netanyahu’s lost his grip

 

Can you legitimize an occupation?

By force and strength of arms?

If Israel is a criminal nation

The world should be alarmed

 

The genocide will never end

If Netanyahu has his way

These actions he cannot defend

His path has gone astray

 

Good people of the Israeli nation

Stand up to this abuse

This is his reckless abomination

He does not stand for you

 

You are one step from condemnation

One step away from scorn

Rise up with righteous indignation

Or curse the day you were born

 

 

Moving toward Peace

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GAZA

 

Moving toward Peace

 

The League of Arabian Nations

Has moved the ball toward peace

Condemning Hamas and October 7

Instead of attacking the Israeli beast

 

The UN has recognized Palestine

As an independent sovereign nation

Along with Canada, France and Turkey

We demand an end to subjugation

 

The Arab League made their demand

That Hamas lay down its arms

In exchange they demand the Israelis

Should cease and do no more harm

 

It is time that genocide finally end

This vengeance has gone on too long

On all nations we must depend

To right this horrific wrong

 

We ask the good people of Israel

To demand an end to the war

To your leaders we beg your appeal:

Let the genocide be no more

 

 

Starvation in Gaza

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GAZA

 

Starvation in Gaza

 

Remember the Holocaust

Remember the concentration camps

Remember Auschwitz and Buchenwald

Remember Dachau and Langenstein

Remember the images of starvation

Skin devoid of flesh covering skeletons

Gaunt faces stripped of hope

Eyes pleading for relief

A portrait of inhumanity to man

An exploration of the lowest depths

Depravity and desperation

 

Remember the perpetrators

Remember the solemn promise

Never again, never again

 

Now look to Gaza

Familiar images on darker skin

Hopelessness and desperation

Living skeletons and bodies devoid of flesh

 

The victims become the perpetrators

And the cry becomes the accusation

The condemnation, the curse

Never again, never again

 

Around the World

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Around the World

 

The war in Gaza rages

The war in Yemen holds

The wars progress in stages

The Ukrainians will not fold

 

The tariff wars intensify

Across the global stage

Our leaders taking foreign bribes

The Saudis are in play

 

Everywhere we plant a seed

The future is in doubt

Autocracies grow like weeds

Democracy is out

 

The war is raging everywhere

Our rights are on the run

Those in power do not care

The reckoning has begun

 

The warming is the greatest threat

To all that live on earth

We’ve just begun to pay the debt

How much is the planet worth?

 

The Occupation

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GAZA

 

The Occupation

 

They are starving in Gaza

The children eat birdseed

The siege is in place

A blockade of all needs

 

The Israeli Occupation

Has captured the Strip

A complete subjugation

The crack of a whip

 

We pretend it’s not real

The world turns away

A spin of the wheel

There’s no more to say

 

But if you’re living in Gaza

You have no choice

The bombs keep on falling

Drowning out your voice

 

Will no one bear witness

To the crimes of this war?

We’ve turned out the lights

We’ve bolted the door