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

 

Allez Macron!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Allez Macron!

 

Amidst the paralyzing indifference

As the horrors spread in the Middle East

From Gaza to the West Bank to Lebanon

At the hands of the Israeli beast

 

One man rises in the heart of Europe

To say what must be said

We cannot stand by indifferently

Until ten thousand more are dead

 

He proposes a weapons embargo

To stop the spread of this bloody war

If the Israelis continue on this path

It will soon be at our door

 

Netanyahu is reeling desperately

All he wants is blood and more

It will take a unity of nations

To end this endless war

 

We all must be accountable

For the horrors he has unleashed

What began as just retribution

Has become a bloodletting feast

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

 

Stop the War!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

Stop the War (Letter to Biden)

 

Mister President

You are still the president

As Netanyahu expands the war

With his attacks on Lebanon

With his threats against Iran

You are the only one on earth

Who can stop this madness

You have the key to Israeli power

Though you have sworn not to use it

Netanyahu is taunting you

Daring you to act

He does not believe you will do it

He’s got you in a vice

How long can this go on?

How far can he push you?

In the name of peace

In the name of justice

Withhold funding for Israel

Withhold weapons and military aid

Do it in small increments

Then larger and larger still

Secure the remaining hostages

Secure the Israeli people

Secure Palestine a future

By removing Netanyahu from

His place of ultimate power

You will pave the road to peace

It will take political courage

It will involve risk

But there is no other way

 

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

 

People of Israel Rising

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL/GAZA

People of Israel Rising

 

The people of Israel are rising

Fed up with your dirty war

Fed up with your phony efforts

Sickened to their very core

 

They’re tired of supporting you

You think you’re so damn clever

Without regard for what you do

You want a war to fight forever

 

You’ll always have another reason

As the blood flows down the streets

Another war for every season

Your anger fuels the heat

 

Bring all your people home today

The people you did not defend

It doesn’t matter what you say

It is time for your war to end

 

The people are your masters

Not the other way around

Your way has been a great disaster

Have the courage to step down

 

Bebe's War

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

Bebe’s War

 

It is not the thing itself

It’s the timing of the thing itself

With the Middle East ready to explode

With a ceasefire in negotiations

With a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza

With Hezbollah firing rockets from Lebanon

Netanyahu orders a strike in Tehran

Inviting a broader war

A war engaging the world’s powers

 

Israel has a right to defend herself

Israel has a right to kill those responsible

For the October 7^th attack

Targeted assassination was the proper

Response to the assault

But to wait until Gaza is decimated

To wait until tens of thousands are dead

Homes, schools, hospitals destroyed

To wait for mass starvation

 

Netanyahu has left us no doubt

This war will go on and on

As long as he is still in power

This is Bebe’s war

And Bebe’s war has no end

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