Remember the Fallen

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: VIOLENCE

 

Remember the Fallen

 

We lament the killing of Charlie Kirk *

As we mourn Melissa Hortman **

Both were killed for political work

By a crazed individual assassin

 

One is no greater than the other

No lesser by any means

One was a sister, the other a brother

And both were human beings

 

Both were martyred to their cause

Remember them for who they were

Despite whatever human flaws

This fate they did not deserve

 

There is far too much hatred and rage

In this world of growing extremes

We are entering a desperate violent age

We should grasp just what that means

 

High powered weapons in dangerous hands

Are a problem we all must address

Take a vow to do whatever you can

To make these dangers less

 

And lower the volume of discontent

Accept that we can disagree

Interpret kindly what others meant

Try not to plant the seed

 

*   assassinated in Utah

** assassinated in Minnesota

 

Pravda

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

 

Pravda

 

We have become what we despise

The media is bought and sold

We embrace the golden leader’s lies

Our sense of decency grows cold

 

We are the shining silver tower

Money is the voice that speaks

We are the ones who worship power

The ship of state has sprung a leak

 

We do not miss our freedom here

We sent it on a ship to sea

We hold our leader very dear

And that alone’s enough for me

 

There is one truth for everyone

They hand it to us every day

We have the right to own a gun

The other rights we gave away

 

From this time forward we are one

One voice, one vote, one truth

We praise the glory of the sun

Who needs a voting booth?

 

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

 

The Ebro

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RIVER SERIES

 

The Ebro (River Series)

 

It flows east by southeast

From Cantabria to the Mediterranean Sea

It feeds the north of Spain

It borrows from the Pyrenees

On the northern border with France

It courses through highlands

To the broad open plains

Then narrows in the rocky gorge

Where the river is constrained

 

In ancient times it formed the line

Between Carthage and imperial Rome

Battles were fought and many died

For the right to call the Ebro home

 

In modern days it marked the beginning

Of the end of Spain’s democracy

La Batalla del Ebro left thousands dead

And helped found an enduring autocracy

 

The flow of the Ebro is running down

Due to dams, irrigation and warming

From time-to-time floods take dry ground

As the river absorbs extreme storming

 

The River Ebro will endure

Despite the inventions of man

Its future will remain unsure

Though Spain will do what she can

 

 

Drones over Poland

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Drones over Poland

 

Russia is testing the west

Sending drones over Polish skies

Putin is pounding his chest

To see how the allies fly

 

The threat is abundantly clear

They’re pushing as far as they can

An agenda designed to spread fear

Throughout all western lands

 

NATO must stand united

Against the allies of Russian aggression

These wrongs can only be righted

With a strong, united expression

 

Ukraine will not be the lamb

Sacrificed to appease the beast

Together the alliance must stand

To demand the aggressor cease

 

Only then will the world find peace

Only then will aggression end

The path of resistance least

Is that NATO will not bend

 

Kathmandu

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Kathmandu

 

Kumari did not come to Durbar Square

The city was in lockdown

The living goddess wasn’t there

Abandoning the hallowed ground

 

Nepal is a land in disarray

Its democracy lies in tatters

The people lie in wait and pray

There peaceful lives are shattered

 

They left their monarchy behind

Not so many years ago

Since then the blind have led the blind

And the discontent has grown

 

A democracy requires more

Than a paper constitution

A balance of power at its core

And strong civil institutions

 

What comes next in Kathmandu

No one really knows

The one thing we know is true

The desperation grows

 

Arresting Democracy (France)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Arresting Democracy

 

What are we to make of the protests in France?

More of the same?

A familiar refrain?

Or something that cuts more deeply?

 

Macron has far too often turned

Too far to the right

Too eager to fight

On the side of the rich and privileged

 

He wants cuts in social spending

Spare those with wealth

Make cuts to health

The spirit of the French is ending

 

They are gathered on the streets again

To end the rule

To support the schools

They are tired of feeling betrayed

 

They are fighting with a brutal force

To stifle their voice

They have no choice

There must be law and order

 

But the people of France will have their say

They know their rights

They’re willing to fight

For France and the liberal way

 

Assassin's Bullet

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: VIOLENCE IN AMERICA

 

Assassin’s Bullet

 

We disagree on so many things

From defending Ukraine to building a wall

From whether angels really do have wings

To whom will be the next to fall

But we can agree on this one thing:

An assassin’s bullet is against us all

 

The powerful weapon that took him down *

Should never be allowed

Not on a safe and sacred ground

Nor a place with an assembled crowd

We wonder what the assassin found

That shamed or made him proud

That made his mind unsound

 

Whatever else can be said

That will move our hearts or stir our rage

A man who lived now is dead

He has left the living stage

He leaves behind the ones he loved

To suffer through this violent age

The soaring hawk, the lonesome dove

No more will he engage

 

* Charlie Kirk in Utah

 

Foot of the Mountains

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

Foot of the Mountains

 

At the foot of the mountains

Where the river once was saved

Keep your silence and count ten

With one foot in the grave

 

I was running from nowhere

I was biding my own good time

I was holding my thoughts there

I was thinking thoughts in rhyme

 

There were clouds in a clear sky

I was riding on the waves

When a murder of crows came flying by

They were dealing in human slaves

 

Then a crash of floodwaters came

Like a booming river from hell

It was captured in the picture frame

I heard a ringing of the bells

 

At the foot of the mountains

Where once a preacher was slain

We drank from the mystic fountain

And the whole world went insane

 

Will we awaken before the end

Before it all goes out to sea

We can be certain it depends

On how long we let it be

 

Extrajudicial Killing

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN JUSTICE

 

Extrajudicial Killing

 

They announced a major victory

In the war against cartels

They killed eleven on the open sea

Then they rang the victory bell

 

Who among us would dare ask

Where is the evidence?

Were they wearing cartel masks?

Were their narco dollars spent?

 

Do we claim the right to kill

Without just and righteous cause?

Anyone we can and will

Without protection of the law?

 

You tell us they were terrorists

Importing killer drugs

Were their names on the terror list?

Are there photos of their mugs?

 

Is the law not for others?

Are you the ones who will decide?

Justice for one but not another?

Protections only for our side

 

This is a fundamental wrong

One that cannot be denied

It belies the weak, not strong

The day that justice lied

 

(US blows up a speedboat off the

coast of Venezuela.)

 

America the Free

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

America the Free

 

This is not the Philippines

Where Duterte had his reign

We know what independence means

We will not be restrained

 

This is not Beijing

Where they have an iron fist

Where freedom has no meaning

Where they keep an enemies list

 

This is not the Kremlin

Where Putin is their king

Where dissenters are imprisoned

Where elections are a sting

 

This is not Pyongyang

In service to dear leader

When Lady Liberty rang

They replied they didn’t need her

 

This is the land of liberty

America the free

Where individuality

Belongs to you and me

 

This is the land of light

No man above the law

Where fundamental rights

Are not considered flaws

 

Where everyone is free

To speak as they will speak

To be what they would be

To seek what they would seek

 

 

Cooking the Books

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

 

Cooking the Books

 

If you don’t like the message

Kill the messenger

If you don’t like the numbers

Cook the books

 

Pretty soon you’ve got no messengers

Pretty soon there are only sycophants

Bobble headed yes men

Afraid to tell the truth

 

The war is lost, your majesty.

Off with his head!

Your program is a travesty.

Take a pill and go to bed!

 

He’s a mob boss not a king

He rules by fear and terror

If he wants to wear a ring

You will be the ring bearer

 

What kind of man is this?

To tell us how we feel

He may tell us this is bliss

But we know it isn’t real

 

(Trump fires head of the

Bureau of Labor Statistics)

 

The Nordic Front

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

 

The Nordic Front

 

Putin made a fool of our president

Laying on the authoritarian charm

But he signed a deal that delivered

To Kiev most critical arms

 

Funded by the Nordic front

Sweden, Denmark and Norway *

We hope that Russians feel the brunt

Before their attentions stray

 

America will not take the lead

All of Europe will do their share

We no longer feel a pressing need

The burden now is theirs

 

But the Nordic front is next in line

If his thirst is not contained

Poland, Hungary, Liechtenstein

May begin to feel the strain

 

For now it is a regional war

Confined to former Soviet states

But victory leads to desire for more

Wake up before it’s too late

 

America will be left behind

With a leader who is sleeping

And a congress that is nearly blind

May leave the whole world weeping

 

* and the Netherlands

 

Putin and Xi

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Putin and Xi (and Modi)

 

Putin meets with Xi

The monster of the north

Meets the beast of the east

What does it mean going forth?

 

The invasion carries on

As the monster stakes his claim

The whole world knows he’s wrong

We will not forget Ukraine

 

Kiev expresses fear

That America will refrain

That the end is drawing near

But we won’t forget Ukraine

 

Ukraine would be the first

But it would not be the last

Nor would it be the worst

Another war would come to pass

 

Thanks to Putin and to Xi

The end of human rights

A massive loss of dignity

Democracy in plight

 

Now Modi joins the fray

On the wrong side of the line

From the republic he will stray

To lead his nation in decline