The Shock of 9-11

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN HISTORY

 

The Shock of 9-11

 

The shock of nine eleven

Still reverberates today

Three thousand souls in heaven

The world had lost its way

 

We remember all the tears

We remember all the rage

The recurring chain of fear

The global war on terror age

 

Our nation went to war

Long before we could assess

What they were fighting for

In a war against the west

 

We started in Afghanistan

Like the Russians did before

We fought against the Taliban

In a misbegotten war

 

We moved over to Iraq

Though no one knew what for

Like the winding of a clock

A long and futile war

 

We finally got Bin Laden

With a strike in Pakistan

At last we found revenge

Though it never was the plan

 

We mourn the lives we lost

We mourn the dead of war

The horrific human cost

Of that cold September morn

 

 

The Smithsonian

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUE HISTORY

 

The Smithsonian

 

To tell us what is false and true

You have to know your history

Racial bias is nothing new

Your motive is not a mystery

 

We built fortunes on our slaves

It’s a matter of solemn fact

Home of the free, land of the brave

With the exception of the blacks

 

God wasn’t always on our side

When we marked a westward trail

A little matter of genocide

While we built the golden rails

 

We imprisoned the Japanese

For the country of their origin

We abused and used the Chinese

For the color of their skin

 

We fought wars for faulty reasons

So many innocents have died

We’ve seen presidents commit treason

But the law was not applied

 

Now you’d like a different story

One of heroes and wonderment

Tales of courage and of glory

Not what was but what was “meant”

 

(Trump wants the Smithsonian to

label “false” or “misleading” displays.)

 

 

The Red Scare

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Red Scare

 

A socialist is a communist

The analogy is not fair

You don’t need to be a psychologist

To recognize the red scare

 

They tried it back in the fifties

At that time it worked real well

They tried it again in the sixties

Once again it rang a bell

 

That’s how we got the McCarthy scourge

That’s how we got Tricky Dick

At worst it is a patriot’s dirge

At best it’s a dirty trick

 

If you want to be afraid

Be afraid of the fear mongers

Until your debt is paid

The opposition will grow stronger

 

They’re swimming against the tide

They are summoning the past

Let’s take it all in stride

Their decline is steep and fast

 

Hey buddy have you heard?

We are not afraid of words

Take your tricks and go away

Find another part to play

 

 

Yourself to Blame

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORRUPTION

 

Yourself to Blame

 

When we get the power back

You will hide your heads in shame

You pushed so hard you’re off the tracks

You’ll have only yourself to blame

 

You took in so much dirty money

You didn’t even try to hide it

It’s no longer even funny

All the billionaires confide it

 

You cooked up a thousand schemes

While taking money from the poor

You’ve destroyed the American dream

While kicking migrants out the door

 

When this chapter finally ends

The world will sigh with great relief

Not a soul will defend

The president who was a thief

 

When you take your final leave

A curse will be upon your name

When it happens you’ll believe

You’ll only have yourself to blame

 

 

American Politics

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

American Politics

 

Politics is not a team sport

Judge Judy is not a real court

When the fate of the nation’s at hand

It should not be a battle of the bands

 

When Tom Paine spoke so beautifully

Of the times that try men’s souls

Among the founders he did foresee

A nation made less than whole

 

By a ruthless man who would want a crown

Who flattered the people with promises

Of course he would let the people down

He doesn’t mean a word that he says

 

When the founders spoke of tyranny

Of enemies within and without

They foresaw the threats to our liberty

They knew there would be doubt

 

There’s so much more at stake

In the election of a head of state

Than just winning for winning’s sake

It foretells the nation’s fate

 

America the Bold

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN HISTORY

 

America the Bold

 

Let there be a new America

Like the America of old

The one that landed on the moon

America the bold

 

I remember that America

That shining star of glory

The one that welcomed all aboard

The hero in the story

 

We sailed across the vast blue sea

America the brave

We found a land inhabited

And dug them an early grave

 

But we rose above our travesty

We founded a republic

Embraced the nation’s majesty

The tired, poor and sick

 

We fought our share of wars

For purpose good and bad

America the powerful

The best we’ve ever had

 

We rose to meet our destiny

A nation of all kinds

Together we were meant to be

A nation color blind

 

We’ll find our way back home again

America’s been sold

The greatest we have ever been

America the bold

 

Two-hundred Fifty Years

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICA

 

Two-hundred Fifty Years

 

Founded on the fundamental right

Of democratic representation

The noble cause was worth the fight

It was the birth of a great nation

 

The best of our founders knew

That our nation would have to evolve

As our land expanded and grew

There were problems we had to solve

 

We enshrined our basic rights

We extended them to all

Our promise became our might

As the people answered our call

 

We stood for common decency

Though atrocities did go down

We acknowledge our tainted history

We’ve improved the founders’ ground

 

We fought a war for freedom

We fought a war to free the slaves

We fought Hitler and we beat him

We built on the founders’ graves

 

We know well the fight goes on

We accept that it will not end

We will fight against all wrong

And our freedoms we’ll defend

 

For America is our nation

It belongs to each and every one

We are built on immigration

Equal rights under the sun

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY USA!

 

Netanyahu's War

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR IN IRAN

 

Netanyahu’s War

 

A billion dollars a day in Netanyahu’s war

The man has gone insane

As he asks for billions more

It’s the Middle East refrain

You can hear the lions roar

You can feel the grief and pain

And we know what lies in store

 

You have sacrificed your cause

The way the Dubya did before you

You have trashed international laws

The economy must have bored you

Now all you had is lost

Nothing will restore you

And we will pay the cost

 

Now boots are on the ground

In a war that never ends

Until a bitter truce is found

Though the wounds will never mend

The whole world hears the sound

On oil we all depend

And the markets will go down

And down and down again

 

Shockwaves over Caracas

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR

 

Shockwaves over Caracas

 

Venezuela is in turmoil

Maduro has been captured

America claims her oil

On this winter day the third

 

Bright flames light up the sky

Explosions fill the air

The world must wonder why

This president has dared

 

He thinks they will surrender

Without offering up a fight

But this day they’ll remember

For the dimming of the light

 

All the world must now tremble

In fear and trepidation

The world order is dissembled

By a rogue and brutish nation

 

Like Russia in Ukraine

Without cause or provocation

Our actions leave a stain

There can be no salvation

 

We’ve learned nothing from the past

A war for oil in Iraq

Unlawful gains will never last

Once they absorb the shock

 

 

Santiago Falls (The Ghost of Pinochet)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LATIN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Santiago Falls

 

Jose Antonio Kast

Brings back shadows of the past

The ghost of Pinochet

Has come back to haunt Chile

 

A campaign of law and order

A promise to protect the border

Rising crime and deportation

Mounting fear and desperation

 

We cannot predict the future

But we can warn about the past

As the future travels nearer

Our dread grows deep and vast

 

Recall the disappeared

Remember the oppression

The iron fist of fear

Has Chile learned her lesson?

 

Or is she now condemned

To repeat her sordid past?

On this man you’ll depend

To break his fascist cast

 

 

War Crimes

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR

 

War Crimes

 

War crimes are as old as war itself

 

The Revolutionary War

  The Sullivan Expedition

 

The Civil War

  Sherman’s March to the Sea

 

Civil wars are never civil

 

The Indian Wars

  The Trail of Tears

    Wounded Knee

      The Sand Creek Massacre

 

Nits make fleas

 

WWI

  Pillage and Plunder

 

To the victor goes the spoils

 

WWII

  The bombing of Dresden

    Internment of the Japanese

      Nagasaki / Hiroshima

        The Nuremberg Trials

 

War is hell

 

Korean War

  No Gun Ri Massacre

 

Vietnam

  My Lai Massacre

    Carpet bombing

      Free fire zones

 

Asians don’t value life as we do

 

The Gulf War

  Radioactive munitions

    Gulf War Syndrome

 

Iraq War / War on Terror

  Abu Ghraib

 

The Narco Terror War

  Extrajudicial execution

    No survivors

 

Where there is war

There are war crimes

War itself is a crime against humanity

 

 

The History of Me

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: THANKSGIVING

 

History of Me

 

We made our way across the sea

Way back in 1493

At Plymouth Rock we planted seeds

That’s the history of me

 

We were cold and we were hungry

The natives gave us aide

They answered to our desperate plea

We bowed our heads and prayed

 

We founded thirteen colonies

The British tried to tax our tea

Our people said no thank you please

That’s the history of me

 

A hundred years we traveled west

We settled in the rolling hills

We thought to stay and have a rest

The buffalo were killed

 

We did what we were led to do

We were a different breed

We always wanted something new

That’s the history of me

 

A thousand years of slavery

A long and bloody civil war

Tales of death and bravery

The reaper at the door

 

The dust bowl pushed us out again

Until we reached the other sea

Degraded everywhere we’d been

That’s the history of me

 

We’re proud and we’re determined

To leave a better legacy

We tired of the sermon

That’s the history of me

 

(Happy Thanksgiving Eve!)

 

McCarthy Lives

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: FREE SPEECH

 

McCarthy Lives

 

Because we have forgotten

We are condemned to live the past

A time when government turned rotten

All citizens should be aghast

 

It was known as the Great Red Scare

The Bill of Rights was suspended

Speak out boldly if you dare

The right to speak has been amended

 

Are you now or have you ever

Been a member of the party not in power?

Then your rights are hereby severed

As of this day this very hour

 

When we’re afraid to speak our minds

For fear of dire consequences

Then our democracy is blind

Building walls and erecting fences

 

They’re building prisons for us now

In the name of law and order

Don’t know when, don’t know how

But they will drag us to the border