The Insurrection Act

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: INSURRECTION

 

The Insurrection Act

 

What despicable irony

That the leading insurrectionist

Should summon the Insurrection Act

To release the military hounds

The few, the proud, the Marines

To fight back their own people

To suppress a lawful assembly

To oppress a peaceful gathering

Within the confines of our nation

 

This is not an insurrection

It’s a plain and simple fact

We have gone the wrong direction

We are on a vicious track

 

We remember insurrection

It was not so long ago

You cried out for insurrection

Then you said it wasn’t so

 

You pardoned all your followers

For breaking down the walls

For pushing through the barriers

For answering your call

 

For provoking mass disorder

For striking fear in all

For following your orders

Put ‘em up against the wall!

 

Now you call the soldiers in

A ruthless show of force

This is where it all begins

Our democracy off course

 

 

The Coup

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Coup

 

Maybe we’re all to blame

Maybe a change was overdue

Now we hang our heads in shame

We’ve legitimized the coup

 

We all witnessed an act of treason

Every one of us knows it’s true

Have we abandoned our sense of reason?

We have legitimized the coup

 

You might say nothing has changed

Days of old become the new

All the pieces are rearranged

We’ve legitimized the coup

 

Who’s to say when it will end?

Let’s give the other side its due

Will it break or will it bend?

We have legitimized the coup

 

This will live beyond tomorrow

They will wonder what we knew

We will hide our heads in sorrow

We legitimized the coup

 

Insurrection Blues Redux

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: INSURRECTION

Insurrection Blues Redux

 

Want to start an insurrection?

Want to turn over an election?

If you’re Donald Trump you’re fine

If you’re not you’re doing time

 

Asking congress to do their job

Of interpreting the constitution

Is an abdication of their duty:

Delivering just restitution

To a man guilty of treason

The court offers no solution

It goes beyond all reason

It’s a wicked convolution

In a convoluted season

 

You had the duty to decide

The pressing question of the day

Is Donald Trump qualified

Or is that a price he has to pay

For inciting insurrection

Back on Insurrection Day?

 

There are three levels of the law

One is for the rich

For whom the court is made of straw

Another is for the poor

For whom brutality is raw

A third is for the Donald

Whose defiance is in awe

 

The man is guiltier than guilt

The truth is plain to see

The Court is in his pocket

It’s a sad reality

 

(re: Supreme Court V. Colorado.)

Supreme Injustice Redux

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Supreme Injustice Redux

 

When you must explain to the Court

Why their rulings are painfully wrong

It’s plain to see by reason’s eye

These judges do not belong

 

Of course the states should not decide

Who can run for president

That’s why it went to the high court

Though you’re so afraid of precedent

 

So it’s another lame decision

By the worst court of our times

Whose decisions are so partisan

It is hard to make them rhyme

 

It seems we all must suffer through

The next few generations

For those who were wrongly chosen

To the highest court of the nation

 

(The Court rules in favor of

Trump’s eligibility in Colorado.)

Supreme Wisdom

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SUPREME COURT

Supreme Wisdom

 

What is an insurrection?

First we must decide

Based on precedent however meager

What is what?

For What means many things to many people

What can stand alone or seek the company of others

What can be a verb

He did what to whom?

What can be a noun

His name is what?

What is what you call him

(only if he’s drunk)

If we survive the test of What

We move on to Is

Here we find precedent

A former president once said:

It depends on what Is is

Which raises the question of Isis

Is is Isis? What was she?

What is she? And how does she apply?

That leads us to An

As opposed to A

For An must always oppose A

It is written in the constitution

The constitution of grammar

A shall precede a noun beginning with a consonant

An shall precede a noun beginning with a vowel

With few exceptions

Should we endure this treacherous journey

Fraught with unforeseen pitfalls and

Duplicitous encounters

We arrive with due caution at the very

Heart of the matter: Insurrection

Quite frankly: We know it when we see it

Case closed!

The Storming of the People's House

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

Storming of the People’s House

 

The people of Paris stormed the Bastille

14 July 1789 to overthrow a despotic

government. A monarchy, an aristocracy,

hereditary succession, a royal king.

 

In Washington the people stormed congress

6 January 2021 to overthrow an elected

president, to install a monarchy, hereditary

succession, an aristocratic king. 

 

The storming of the Bastille toppled the

king, introduced the guillotine and begat

the Reign of Terror, a river of blood that

swallowed its leader: Maximilien

Robespierre.

 

The storming of the people’s house fell

short of its goal, dozens of instigators

captured and jailed while its leader went

free, opening the door to a period of

uncertainty and the promise of revenge.

 

The storming of the Bastille was a turning

point in history; one by one the monarchs

fell, replaced by elected governments,

representative democracies that shined

from Europe to across the sea. 

 

The storming of the people’s house is an

unfinished story: a defense of democracy

or its tragic fall? A period of unrest or a

reign of terror? For better or for worse,

let the people decide. 

 

The Ballad of Christopher Wray

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Ballad of Christopher Wray

 

Hey hey Christopher Wray

How many crimes did you ignore today?

 

You were in the highest position of power

As we marched toward the critical hour

We assumed a position of supplication

When insurrection threatened the nation

While you stood down in a state of denial

Democracy faced its greatest trial

 

Hey hey Christopher Wray

Who paid you to get out of the way?

 

When the nation needed a strong hand

You flatly refused to take a stand

With the strength and courage you clearly lack

We finally took our country back

Oh the stories you might tell

Instead you’ll take them straight to hell

 

Hey hey Christopher Wray

Why do you still hold office today?

 

Talkover at CNN

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP DAZE

The Talkover at CNN

 

The big bully doesn’t have conversations

He runs over you like a bulldozer

Like the bully that he is

And if you dare try to stand up to him

If you dare try to get a word in

He calls you nasty names

He holds you in contempt

And places you beneath his majesty

 

He has his narrative of fantasy

He sticks to his talking points

Everyone who disagrees with him

Everyone who interrupts his flow

His constant flow of sacred words

His golden jewels of wisdom

Is on the take of the elite

Under the influence of haters

Drunk on the manna of media madness

 

He alone can set you free

He alone can end the madness

He alone can restore dignity

He alone can lead the world to peace

He alone can give women want they want

He alone can make America great again

He alone can put people in their place

He alone is the genie of all genies

You know it, I know it

Everybody knows it!

 

The insurrection never happened

January 6 was a walk in the park

America has gone to hell

The Proud Boys are heroes

Stand back and stand by!

He’s got a job to finish:

Ending democracy in America

 

Mar-a-Lago Burning

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN JUSTICE

Mar-a-Lago Burning

 

The rope is lowered ‘round the neck

The wheels of justice turning

The dealer playing out the deck

That’s Mar-a-Lago burning

 

He thought that he would never pay

For instigating revolution

He did the deed, he got away

Too late for a solution

He didn’t think, he didn’t know

The time has come to let it go

Nobody cares about the past

That ship has left the port

The next election’s coming fast

We don’t have time for court

 

But justice strikes like thunder

The tide is finally turning

At last the guilty will go under

That’s Mar-a-Lago burning

 

Guilty

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Guilty (Sedition)

 

Proud Boys ain’t so proud today

The Oath Keepers break their vows

Pronounced guilty, sent to prison

For as long as the law allows

 

Let all extremists be forewarned

If you attack the ship of state

Be prepared to pay the price

For acting out your hate

 

Treason is a nasty word

How else would you describe it?

You led an angry mob that day

Pushed forward from inside it

 

Now the day of judgment comes

Bow your heads in shame

You’ll live in lasting infamy

Traitor shall be your name

 

Rats

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Rats                                                                                                                

 

Rats in the rafters

Rats in the walls

Rats are roaming congressional halls

Rats in the war room

Rats in the stalls

Rats awaiting the president’s call

 

The Magats claimed it was all corrupt

The stench oozing from drains and ducts

They were right with such sick irony

As they enacted blatant tyranny

 

Rats in the White House

Rats on hold

Rats in service to the president’s fold

Rats in the office

Rats in the field

Rats that would strike an iceman cold

 

They tried to kill democracy

This time they came up short

Next time they will make sure

The rats will guard the fort

 

Yes We Can

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Yes We Can

 

The former leader is a blatant criminal

His future candidacy must be banned

But you say we can’t do that

Not to a former president

Not to the chosen man

Say it together: Yes we can

 

They planned and staged an insurrection

He was the leader of the band

But you say it doesn’t matter

You cannot prosecute the man

Say it loud and say it clear:

Yes we can

 

He’ll do it again if he gets away with it

It’s the only thing he understands

But you say we can’t do that

After all he was the man

Say it loud and say it louder:

Yes we can

 

He stashed away damning evidence

Fraud and deception is his brand

But you can’t imprison a former president

You can’t do that to the man

Say it again with conviction:

Yes we can

 

Red, White and Blue

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Red, White and Blue

 

Red, white and blue

These colors belong to you

If you believe in democracy

If you believe in an honest vote

If you believe in the sanctity of elections

If you believe what Jefferson wrote

 

Red, white and blue

These colors do not belong to you

If you believe in Putin’s allies

If you admire Orban of Hungary

If you sympathize with autocracy

If you reject global democracy

If you believe the election was stolen

For the sake of an American conman

Who organized an insurrection

To defraud the presidential election

 

Red, white and blue

These colors are sacred

They belong to all of us

Who pledge their life and loyalty

To the American ideal