Depleted

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Depleted

 

All our weapons are depleted

It couldn’t get much worse

Before this “mission” is completed

We’ll be riding in a hearse

 

They’re closing off the straits

They’re choking off supplies

We are awakening too late

To a waterfall of lies

 

We are sadly unprepared

For the wars that could unfold

Trapped in the dragon’s lair

All our options growing cold

 

Soon we’ll face the prospect

Of surrendering the cause

Of losing all respect

Of admitting all our flaws

 

Our leaders are incompetent

They are flailing in the night

Our interceptors have been spent

And the end is not in sight

 

This gross miscalculation

Is a betrayal of Ukraine

Instead of aiding that brave nation

Out munitions are constrained

 

No!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: THE RESISTANCE

 

No! 

 

We don’t want you wicked ICE

We don’t want your data centers

Let me give you some advice

Put an end to these adventures

 

You don’t know what you’re doing

You don’t know what you’ve done

You’re flailing and you’re suing

And the backlash has begun

 

We don’t want your dirty prisons

We don’t want your careless cuts

There’s a trail of daft decisions

The decree is open shut

 

We don’t want your lame-brained wars

We don’t want your crypto schemes

We don’t want drilling off our shores

We don’t share your racist dream

 

We don’t want to rig the vote

We don’t want soldiers on the streets

We don’t want to rock the boat

But we won’t march to your beat

 

It is time for you to go

We’ve grown tired of your act

You have lost your golden glow

Cue the curtain, fade to black

 

Expanding War

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Expanding War

 

The Israeli American war on Iran

Expands throughout the region

Strikes in Jordan and Lebanon

The world has lost all reason

 

The Houthis based in Yemen

The latest strikes within Iraq

The Emirates are a given

The Saudis have taken stock

 

The war expands in leaps and bounds

Every day another volley

Another missile shakes the ground

Another injured child is calling

 

The Russians feed Iran

North Korea feeds the Russians

The Chinese simply wait for dawn

Who will supply the guns?

 

Another war that has no end

That pulls all parties in

All the wounds that will not mend

As another war begins

 

This is an endless cycle

As if it has been decreed

Like a fool on a motorcycle

That fool is bound to bleed

 

Reluctant Ally (NATO)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: NATO

 

Reluctant Ally 

 

The alliance is no stronger

Than the weakest of her links

When common purpose is no longer

The alliance slowly sinks

 

We are a grudging ally

A partner from afar

The rules of conduct don’t apply

When this is where we are

 

He rails against all members

Who do not shower him with praise

Every slight he will remember

His fickle mood becomes a craze

 

He pleads for their assistance

In a losing cause of war

When faced with strong resistance

We can hear his hollow roar

 

It comes down to the Strait

He can’t believe it isn’t ours

The alliances must wait

As we recalculate the powers

 

If the US does not lead

The vacuum will be filled

Europe’s working at light speed

With renewed strength of will

 

 

Foreign Policy Blunder

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Foreign Policy Blunder

 

We were going to rule the world with thunder

The awesome might of our war machine

What we got instead was a massive blunder

One of the worst we’ve ever seen

 

Whose was the brain behind this mess?

Did they not foresee the Hormuz Strait?

The MAGA team has failed the test

They have not made America great

 

They thought it was a piece of cake

A quick and easy declaration

All our enemies would awake

To an age of American domination

 

Benjamin Netanyahu is not pleased

He led our leader by the nose

He’ll tell his people we appeased

But the sense of skepticism grows

 

Our president has made a colossal error

His party will go down in flames

He has unleashed a world of terror

He should hide his head in shame

 

 

Sealing the Deal

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Sealing the Deal

 

With Iran we’re signing a deal

To signal an end to the war

We will wait to see if it’s real

Is it done or will there be more?

 

They will open the Strait of Hormuz

We will end the naval blockade

Once signed will it be through?

Will Israeli hold finally fade?

 

And what will the small print say?

Will Iran give up its ambitions?

Will they forfeit control of the Strait?

Who then will make the decisions?

Of course we had a deal before

When Obama headed the team

Iran had abandoned its course

But Trump didn’t like how it seemed

 

So he ripped it apart at the seams

And called it a terrible deal

It was one of his favorite themes

It fostered the MAGA appeal

 

Now we’ll work toward the same end

That Obama achieved without war

On Iran the deal will depend

The Israelis will always want more

 

 

Barrel of a Gun

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Barrel of a Gun

 

If you want a peace that doesn’t last

That leaves both parties stunned

Ignore the lessons of the past

Point the barrel of a gun

 

Sign the Abraham Accords

That’s the best deal you will get

Sign it now before we’re bored

You’ll forever be in our debt

 

We have the power to destroy

Though neither side has really won

We stand ready to deploy

You’re at the barrel of a gun

 

If lasting peace is what you want

Do not come to the table

This is just a propaganda stunt

To show the world we’re able

 

We don’t care what the future holds

A quick deal and then we’re done

Sign it before our patience folds

You’re at the barrel of a gun

 

Ukraine Rises (Again)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

 

Ukraine Rises Again

 

Trump humiliated Zelensky

The brave leader of Ukraine

He took up arms with the Israelis

In a war he can't sustain

 

Who is laughing now?

Who is feeling shamed?

Europe made a vow

To rise behind Ukraine

 

The barrier that was Orban

Who once stood in the way

Voted out, now that he’s gone

Europe stands with Ukraine

 

The futile war with Iran

Still searches for an end

As it pushes on and on

Netanyahu will not bend

 

Our leader made a foolish bet

He put our money down

Now we’re saddled with his debt

Our hands are tied and bound

 

Ukraine is on the rise

While we are in decline

We grow tired of his lies

He has put us in a bind

 

The Shots

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

 

The Shots

 

I call the shots!

You think that you do

Netanyahu does not!

We know that’s not true

 

You think you’re the man

No one else pulls the strings

You’re the one in command

You can do anything

 

Netanyahu just smiles

And says you’re the best

And still all the while

He couldn’t care less

 

He will do as he pleases

And that’s war to the end

Until our aid ceases

He will call you his friend

 

He calls the shots

Like Cheney for Bush

This war will be fought

Until his last push

 

He’s played you the fool

He’ll play you again

It’s his golden rule

It’s mice against men

 

Netanyahu's War

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Netanyahu’s War

 

Netanyahu’s doing all he can

To defeat the cause of peace

That is the constant Israeli plan

He wants them all deceased

 

Trump has tired of the war

He wants to open up the Strait

He can’t remember what it’s for

There’s too much on his plate

 

But Bebe’s war will never end

As long as he’s in power

He will not break, he will not bend

Not a minute, not an hour

 

Bombs will fall on Lebanon

As long as he is able

Until the last of them is gone

Peace is off the table

 

He will sabotage negotiations

Like a cog in the machine

A total breakdown of relations

There’s war in every scene

 

Get rid of him before too long

And there’s no way back again

The warmongers are much too strong

Their wars will never end

 

 

Around the World

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  THE RESISTANCE

 

Around the World

 

We’re pulling troops from Germany

We’ve putting them in Poland

Berlin becomes our frenemy

Greenland becomes our No Land

 

Putin follows Trump to Beijing

They’re losing their respective wars

Britain travels on our wing

We still don’t know what for

 

The King addressed our Commons House

He set our leaders straight

The opposition party was aroused

You can’t lead this world with hate

 

Our president goes back on attack

Now he wants two billion bucks

Republicans at last push back

This time he’s out of luck

 

The ever-shifting goals of war

Are looking worse and worse

We’d like it like it was before

We’ve heard the people curse

 

The Pope is speaking out for peace

Our president is incensed

He wouldn’t give the Pope a feast

His patience has been spent

 

The world is standing up as one

For peace and human rights

This reign of horrors must be done

It’s time to stand and fight

 

 

Senator Collins Stands for War

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Maine for War

 

The honorable Senator of Maine *

Raises her hand for war

The Senator has made it plain

Her cowardice runs to the core

 

She’s made an art of equivocation

On every issue under the sun

In the end she knows her station

Her vote belongs to the one

 

It’s never about her conscience

It’s rarely about her pride

It rarely makes any sense

She is always on their side

 

This time she has gone too far

In a vote for the Iran war

She is Maine’s declining star

They won’t stand for her anymore

 

She would send your kids to die

So far away and all alone

She could never tell them why

The voters should send her home

 

* Susan Collins

 

Relative Pain

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR

 

Relative Pain

 

What Iran experienced in four weeks

Ukraine has suffered for four long years

And Gaza has suffered for nearly three

The time for peace is long past near

 

While all eyes were turned to Iran

The way of the world goes on and on

The passage of time does not hold still

No matter how many are killed

 

Humans adapt to all manner of hell

That does not mean that all is well

Children will play in a pile of rubble

But we do not live in a bubble

 

Open your eyes to all these wars

Just imagine they’re at your door

They are open wounds we need to mend

The world must demand an end

 

The spoils of war can go on no longer

All civilized nations must come together

Institutions of peace must be stronger

To banish all wars forever

 

 

Britannia Rising

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Britannia Rising

 

Our most loyal of all friends

Has risen in objection

That friendship is at an end

Until the next election

 

We went to war alone

Netanyahu not withstanding

The crude harshness of our tone

The lack of understanding

 

All of Europe stands apart

They’ve refused to go along

For diplomacy is an art

That our president gets wrong

 

We demand that they close ranks

Though they never had a say

We’d like them to say thanks

For what we did yesterday

 

But this is a brutal war

Netanyahu got it wrong

It is rotten to the core

And Britain will not go along