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!

 

The Socialist

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

The Socialist

 

The socialists are winning

Across the eastern states

Uncle Bernie is still grinning

Ain’t America great?

 

It used to be a dirty word

Like anarchist and commie scum

The dirtiest of dirty birds

All socialists were commie bums

 

Now it seems the world has changed

Blame it on the universities

The established order is estranged

They have overcome adversity

 

Now they’re winning in the east

But can they rise up in the west?

Will the old appeal decrease?

It is time to face the test

 

With independence on the rise

The major parties in decline

The working folks are getting wise

The social manifest is fine

 

Heat Wave over Europe

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

Heat Wave over Europe

 

They are wearing white in Italy

They are seeking relief in France

They are finding refuge in the sea

It’s the end of a tragic romance

 

They warming hits them harder

Than most of the climate deniers

They helped write the warming charter

As they foresaw a world on fire

 

They are suffering in Berlin

As thunder shakes the ground

The zealots are blaming sin

As their greens are turning brown

 

The Germans see the future

The French and Spanish too

It is a vision we have nurtured

By pretending it is not true

 

The future comes a calling

In a wave of stifling heat

All the records will be falling

As we surrender in defeat

 

We have a common enemy

Yet we fight against ourselves

The monster storms, the rising seas

We have created our own hell

 

 

Horror in Caracas

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: VENEZUELA

 

Horror in Caracas

 

Twenty-story buildings

Reduced to piles of debris

A collapse of floors and ceilings

The people of Caracas bleed

 

Thousands and thousands homeless

Hundreds and thousands dead

So many people laid to rest

So many left in dread

 

What future lies in store

For a nation torn and tossed

For the masses who are poor

For the countless who are lost?

 

We are sworn to their aid

Since Maduro took his leave

Yet will our dedication fade?

Will we meet the rising needs?

 

Our hearts ache for those poor souls

Who must suffer most of all

May Venezuela be made whole

May the world answer to her call

 

 

Starmer Steps Down

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Starmer Steps Down

 

Who would have guessed?

Touched by the Epstein scandal

Even Starmer had to confess

It was more than the Brits could handle

 

Will the Labour Party fall

In their former leader’s wake?

They will answer to Burnham’s call *

To take on Farage’s quake *

 

Will the Kingdom turn rightwing?

Will they try that path again?

They would promise most anything

To depart from where they’ve been

 

It seems the British are indecisive

They don’t quite know where to turn

Every policy seems divisive

Systemic change is what they yearn

 

Embrace Europe or stay apart?

Increase distance from the States?

Where is the Kingdom’s heart?

Where lies the British fate?

 

Hold on to your convictions

Don’t let them pull you down

Here is a bold prediction

Labour holds its ground

 

* Andy Burnham, Labour MP

* Nigel Farage, Reform Party

 

(Keir Starmer resigns as British PM)

 

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

 

 

Abelardo De La Espriella (Columbia)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LATIN AMERICA

 

Abelardo De La Espriella

 

Columbia walks the tight rope

Now that they’ve made their choice

They are sliding down that slippery slope

Though they may think they will rejoice

 

A mega-prison landscape looms

Along with fracking and massive drilling

They are hoping their economy booms

Yet the outcome may be chilling

 

They follow the path of El Salvador

Though they claim it is not so

If it is their democracy is no more

The oppression will only grow

 

He holds the promise of prosperity

But his prisons will be full

As he pivots to a world of austerity

His promises will grow dull

 

We hope they’ll get another chance

In a free and fair election

As they recognize De La Espriella’s stance

They will make a wiser selection

 

We understand their discontent

But this is not the way

They would like an end to violence

But this path only leads astray

 

(De La Espriella elected President) 

 

 

The Insurrection Act

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

The Insurrection Act

 

JD Vance wanted to strike back

Against the protests in Minneapolis

By invoking the Insurrection Act

Deploying soldiers against civilians

Unleashing a bold attack

 

Is anyone lower than JD Vance?

 

Stephen Miller wants to suspend habeas corpus

To facilitate mass deportation

Without the bother of due process

He’d sever the heart of the nation

 

Is anyone lower that Stephen Miller?

 

Donald Trump wants access to the voting rolls

He wants your name and location

He wants control of the next election

He’d betray the core of the nation

 

Is anyone lower than Donald Trump?

 

In nations that do not have basic rights

They don’t bother with habeas corpus

They don’t need to steal the voting rolls

They don’t need an Insurrection Act

Their people have no rights

 

Is this America or some lesser nation?

In the balance, it remains to be seen

 

The Lords of Wall Street

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

 

The Lords of Wall Street

 

The Lords of Wall Street love him

Without dignity or reason

The markets reign above him

He’s the man of every season

 

He starts a war of choice

That cripples the world economy

In a crude a bellicose voice

Like a man with a frontal lobotomy

 

He regards us all as his fools

Who can’t conceive his glory

He’s tossed aside all the rules

He’ll write his own damn story

 

But the Dow goes through the sky

And the NASDAQ follows suit

We cannot wonder why

The man is in it for the loot

 

With one eye on the marketplace

And one hand in the till

The markets are his saving grace

Wall Street loves him still

 

He has the Lords of Wall Street

He owns the Court Supreme

Hold on tight to your seat

This is the MAGA dream

 

JD Vance

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

JD Vance

 

Hold a mirror to yourself JD Vance

Have a modicum of sympathy

For others, not a chance

You have only antipathy

For the poor and the oppressed

Though you claim that they raised you

You do not pass the test

You’re a phony and a sellout

No one wants you at the dance

No one wants to hear you shout

No one, JD Vance

 

You would argue with a door

You would turn yourself about

Claim the ceiling is the floor

Claim that certainty is doubt

If it furthered your ambition

You would call yourself a priest

Claim it was a hard decision

To hide your inner beast

You would assume any stance

With the most against the least

Shame on you, JD Vance

 

 

The Exclusion Act

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RACISM

 

The Exclusion Act

 

The MAGA movement is nothing new

Its racist roots trace back

To eighteen hundred and eighty-two

The Chinese Exclusion Act

 

The Chinese worked as virtual slaves

On the transcontinental railway

The work was hard, the workers brave

They worked for the right to stay

 

Twelve hundred workers gave their lives

That the railroad might succeed

That America might grow and thrive

The working force would bleed

 

From the Exclusion Act to slavery

In a long continuous line

Acts of defiance and bravery

Freed us from our binds

 

We are a nation of immigration

It is foolish to deny

We rise above our former station

It is the center of our pride

 

All those who wish to push away

The story of our rise

From our birth to this very day

We have overcome the lies

 

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

 

 

Courage

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: HUMAN RIGHTS

 

Courage

 

In a totalitarian society

Courage is speaking your mind

In a place where words are never free

All freedoms will unwind

 

Your thoughts are being monitored

Your opinions and your deeds

Every wayward glance and word

And every article you read

 

In the worlds of Xi and Vladimir

All elections are absurd

Opinions praise the leader dear

The opposition is not heard

 

The people will show bravery

At times of blatant outrage

When their country borders slavery

Their lives are on a stage

 

We stand for freedom everywhere

We fight for it each day

To be constrained we will not bear

We will always find a way

 

When courage is required

To speak our honest thoughts

When every word is wired

Our freedom it is not

 

But we will pledge devotion

To our basic human rights

Just set the wheels in motion

In time we’ll find the light

 

The Ugly American

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

 

The Ugly American

 

He’d send Ilhan Omar back to Somalia

Because he doesn’t like her dress

He would imprison half of California

In fact, he despises all the west

 

His hatred is nearly palpable

Hide your head, he might explode

Of compassion he’s incapable

He lives inside a dome

 

Where no one every questions him

Where everyone adores

Where everyone is less than him

And no one’s keeping score

 

If you ask him he will tell you

He won every single state

If you cross him he’ll expel you

That’s how he makes the nation great

 

They’re all crooks and toxic scum

The ones who will not bend

They’re either crooked or they’re dumb

They’re all losers in the end

 

And he’s a shining tower

Of diamonds, platinum and gold

He holds the nation’s power

And no, he isn’t old