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.)

 

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

 

They Kill Their Own

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL/GAZA

They Kill Their Own

 

In the battle against hypocrisy

No one should stand alone

The solemn truth about Hamas:

Sadly, they kill their own

 

Palestinians who make a choice

Not to take either side

Netanyahu nor Hamas

Neither one can we abide

 

They find themselves in danger

In the streets and in their homes

The IDF will kill them anywhere

But Hamas will kill their own

 

We pray for peace and soon

So much heartbreak to atone

But there can be no mercy

For those who kill their own

 

There are crimes against humanity

There are crimes that are unknown

But there are no greater crimes

Than the killing of your own

 

Bebe Before Congress

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Bebe before Congress

 

He has been here before

To disrupt the democratic process

He wanted to end the Obama presidency

Despite his support for Israel

Despite all the money and military aid

For Bebe it is never enough

Nothing short of unconditional will do

He wants the right to commit genocide

He wants the right to strike at Lebanon

He wants the right to strike Iran

 

Bebe is a war criminal

His gross negligence allowed the attack

There were protests in the streets

There were calls for his resignation

He needed a war with Palestine

He needs the war to carry on

 

His allies in Washington ignore his crimes

They are sworn to his allegiance

They are sworn to his support

Even as he decimates all of Gaza

Even as he levels homes and hospitals

Even as he ensures a hundred years of war

 

Everything that Bebe says in

Condemnation of Hamas is true

Babies burned before their parents

Women abused and tortured

The taking of innocent lives

What is also true is its opposite

One hundred fold…

 

Israel has achieved its revenge

Hamas is destroyed

Palestinians live in constant sorrow

And there is no end

 

Go home, Bebe

Plead your case before your own people

The people who know you best

The people who know your thirst

For the blood of Palestine is unquenchable

The people who know your desire

For war is a bottomless pit

 

Blind Vengeance

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

Blind Vengeance

 

People of Israel

Do you know the crimes

committed in your name?

 

What began as self defense

surrendered that rationale

when Netanyahu decided civilians

were subject to extermination

 

People of Israel

Have you seen the destruction

delivered in your name?

 

Hospitals are not hiding enemies

Schools are not training sites

An ambulance is not a target

Children are not expendable

Palestinians are not Hamas

Mothers are not soldiers

 

People of Israel

Do you know the blood your

leaders are spilling in your name?

 

I am not a terrorist apologist

I lament the unconscionable act

that unleashed this chain of horror

but just retribution has turned

into blind and brutal vengeance

 

People of Israel

I believe in your humanity

Help us to help your nation

return to the path of peace

 

Arrogance (Netanyahu)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

Arrogance

 

Netanyahu knew beforehand

He knew the plan and the intent

He knew the date of the attack

He possessed the intelligence

Yet he turned away in arrogance

 

Netanyahu must resign

 

Hamas would not dare

Hamas does not possess the capability

Hamas does not do intelligent planning

Hamas is not a threat

 

Not only did he ignore the report

He didn’t bother to take precautions

He failed to monitor activities

He failed to put his forces on alert

He failed to place soldiers on the border

He failed to warn his people

He knew but he did not act

The soldiers were late to the scene

 

Netanyahu must resign

 

It is as if he wanted a war

It is as if he did not care

Like Hamas he wanted war

There were people on the streets

The opposition was growing

It is as if he wanted war to save

his failing government

 

Netanyahu must resign

Hostages

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

Hostages

 

Held against their will

Captured by a rabid mob

Down the spine a chill

Innocence is robbed

 

Let my people go!

Israelis cry in vain

Palestine cries back

Feel my people’s pain!

 

Alas they call a truce

Released a chosen few

They gave them what they asked

What else could they do?

 

Palestine and Israel

Are locked in this embrace

A dance of death and destiny

A never-ending chase

 

For peace can never come

To a people locked in hate

As long as we’re indifferent

To either people’s fate

 

Free all political prisoners!

Palestinians and Jews

Free every single one of them

Extend the military truce

 

A Fool's Revenge

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

 

A Fool’s Revenge

 

One thing is clear for all to understand

Israel has played into the enemy’s hand

 

The enemy struck like a thief in the night

Knowing that Israel would show her might

 

Their brutality came in the form of a dare

To strike back hard without mercy or care

 

What the enemy did deserves to be cursed

But Israel’s vengeance may well be worse

 

For the whole world rises in condemnation

Israel’s cruelty goes beyond salvation

 

The world has forgotten the original crime

The path to redemption is a long hard climb

 

Disproportionate Retribution

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

Disproportionate Retribution

 

Hamas lit the tinder box

Israel fanned the flames

But the tinder lay in Gaza

Long before it had a name

 

We know what you have suffered

As sentient beings we feel your pain

But how much more can we witness

Before your suffering is in vain?

 

We plead for your forgiveness

We beg you for relief

Too many children and their parents

Are buried in their grief

 

Too many innocents have died

To feed the gods of retribution

The cost is rising on both sides

Foreclosing hope for a solution

 

The ayatollah does not care

He wants this war to rage

He wants all of us to be scared

He does not want to turn the page

 

But Netanyahu is the same

He also needs the flames of war

For holy vengeance is his shame

He is a warrior to his core

 

If we want this war to end

We must take it in our hands

On love of peace we must depend

To heal this torn and ancient land  

 

Holy Mission

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR

Holy Mission

 

Your cause may be righteous

But it does not belong to god

You mission may be pure

But it is not god’s mission

Whatever god is or is not

Whosever god receives your prayers

And listens to your suffering

There is no god of war

War is man’s invention

The mission of war belongs to men

The cause of war is man

When you raise the name of god in war

You blaspheme his (or her) holiness

When you appeal to god in war

You diminish the nature of god

Save your prayers for the cause of peace

Pray that no more innocents will die

Pray for an end to suffering

Pray for an end to war

Now and forever

Let it be so

October 7

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

October 7

 

Before October 7

Young people filled the streets of Tel Aviv

Every day and every night

Protesting the anti-democratic laws

And hardline policies

Of their warlord prime minister

 

Before October 7

The people on the streets of Tel Aviv

Were the future of Israel

The young were the people of peace

They believed in fair representation

They believed in equal rights

They believed in an independent

Palestine

 

On October 7

Hamas pointed its deadly force directly

At the young people of Israel

Hamas attacked a gathering of music

And celebration

Hamas killed hundreds of young Israelis

Hamas killed the future of Palestine

 

After October 7

There can be no peace

For as long as the sun will shine

For as long as the rivers flow

For as long as lovers love

For as long as the moon will glow

There can be no peace

 

Across the great divide

I hear your voice saying

There was no other way

But there is always another way

You could have joined the young

Israelis on the streets of protest

You could have joined your voices to theirs

You could have made your voices heard

You could have demanded change

To Netanyahu you could have said:

No! No more

 

After October 7

You have no voice

Hamas has stolen it away

All that remains is endless sorrow

 

Human

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

Human

 

Are we not human?

Do we not bleed?

In the name of humanity

Have mercy we plead

 

It is a time of grave danger

The cry of vengeance is loudest

Near the heart of deep sorrow

And the sorrow builds

Sorrow upon sorrow

Until it is changed to burning rage

And the tears of sorrow

Become tears of pain

And the end of pain is vengeance

 

A child of Palestine

Is a child of the earth

If you possess a heart

You acknowledge his worth

 

But vengeance is a forever thirst

The more you drink

The more thirst you feel

It can never be satiated

It grows and grows in leaps and bounds

It ravages all whom it entices

It replaces the heart with a blackened thing

That poisons all it touches