Gutted (Voting Rights Act)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Gutted (Voting Rights Act)

 

The age of civil rights is dead

As is the age of civil liberties

The Court Supreme to Trump is wed

We’ll have no more equality

 

We’re moving back in time

We’ve reversed the march of progress

Racial bias is now fine

As long as whites do best

 

We have too many blacks and browns

Enlisted in our government

We have to turn this trend around

This is what the founders meant

 

Of course they had no women

Only rich white men could vote

We’re going back to where we’ve been

Too many blacks will sink the boat

 

You cannot right an age-old wrong

You can pretend it never happened

Minorities never did belong

Make this nation great again

 

Lady Justice should be blind

Democracy should not be

We need to represent all kinds

Not just the white elites

 

 

The King's Speech

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

The King’s Speech

 

I am no fan of royalty

British or any other kind

Yet do not question my loyalty

When I say he spoke my mind

 

He took issue with our president

Without mentioning his name

His message was a testament

To the president’s great shame

 

He warned of too much power

In the hands of just one man

He spoke to the day and hour

As much as any royal can

 

He defended our democracy

From Magna Carta to the Bill of Rights

He condemned every theocracy

Beware the Christian right

 

He defended the great alliance

That was born after the War

He spoke with the bold defiance

Of a man from a distant shore

 

(Charles III speaks to Congress

28 April 2026.)

 

 

The Police State

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

The Police State

 

Conspiracy theories notwithstanding

They are creating a police state

They’re not just asking, they’re demanding

They want it now, they cannot wait

 

They’re building centers of mass detention

They’re not just for deportees

This is not a new invention

They are planting despot seeds

 

They don’t like it when we use the name

Authoritarian police state

They won’t like when we place the blame

On the ones who say it’s great

 

But we see what they are doing

It is deliberate and it’s planned

They are funding and ensuring

A new government by one man

 

You may not like to hear it

But it’s coming just the same

All good souls should fear it

To our most eternal shame

 

 

Chaos and Commotion in D.C.

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

  

Chaos and Commotion

 

Chaos and commotion

In Washington D.C.

An explosion of emotions

A sense this cannot be

 

The president and all his friends

In moments swept away

The mad rush to defend

Our leaders from the grave

 

It seems like a production

Hollywood grade B

A work under construction

A film you’d never see

 

A speech that seemed rehearsed

An element of suspense

The acting turned out worse

A message that was sent

 

The “hero” who did nothing

But follow their commands

They took him on their wings

To build his corporate brand

The Occupation

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LEBANON

 

The Occupation

 

Remember the Golan Heights

It once belonged to another nation

But Syria lost its seven-day fight

Now it’s an Israeli occupation

 

The southern part of Lebanon

Belongs to the Lebanese

With the Israeli presence strong

There can be no lasting peace

 

Israel refuses to withdraw

While Hezbollah is still armed

They will violate global law

While relying on their “charm”

 

End the Israeli occupation

This cannot be allowed

Lebanon is a sovereign nation

And the people there are proud

 

You cannot seize another’s land

Though you may feel justified

Lebanon must make a stand

For their sovereignty and pride

 

Extinction

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

Extinction

 

The black rhino is no more

The bandicoot and wallaby

It seems humanity is at war

With everything that breathes

 

Extinction in the Gaza Strip

Extinction in Ukraine

Stack the bombs and let em rip

Our race has gone insane

 

Farewell to the shoreline

Farewell to clear blue skies

Is everybody feeling fine?

Welcome to the land of lies!

 

Wars and rumors of

Death and mass destruction

Hatred has displaced our love

A chain of flame eruptions

 

We are now a warlike nation

Our every move destroys

We spread annihilation

With a certain sense of joy

 

When it comes to extinction events

Humanity is not immune

Our time on earth is almost spent

In fact it’s past high noon

 

 

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

 

 

Defending Democracy (Again)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: DEMOCRACY

 

Defending Democracy (Again)

 

Now is the time to marshal defense

Of our democratic institutions

Our waiting time is nearly spent

We have offered our solutions

 

Our enemies are on the offense

Their attacks are neverending

We all know what is meant

By the money that they’re spending

 

We feel it at the ballot box

They want your papers please

The basic right to vote is blocked

Registration rolls are seized

 

Soldiers at the voting sites

Insurrectionists in the fold

A bold denial of our rights

The excuses have grown old

 

If we’d like to stop the steal

We must rally to the cause

These attacks are very real

We can’t depend on the law

 

They will take it if they can

Give an inch, they’ll take a mile

If we fail to make a stand

They will take it with a smile

 

 

The Opposition Rises

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RESISTANCE

 

Opposition Rises

 

The opposition rises

Like the Phoenix from the ashes

The whole world is in crisis

As the global system crashes

 

We are waiting for a change

Not a surface decoration

For the people are estranged

From this war seeking nation

 

Our money seems to shrink

Every time we drive our cars

How long before we sink?

Just how far is too far?

 

They take away our friends

They’ll shoot us if we resist

On their mercy we depend

We are governed by the fist

 

Now they’ve taken it abroad

This grand brutality of force

Netanyahu playing God

Now we’re fighting Israel’s wars

 

Turn around and make it stop

This war has got to end

We are not the global cop

Let the wounds begin to mend

 

 

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

 

 

Canada Stands Strong

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Canada Rises

 

Carney* secured his leadership

With a resounding Liberal victory

He tightened his party’s grip

And secured his people’s loyalty

 

He has led his sovereign nation

In the spirit of independence

They’ve rejected subjugation

Along with our president

 

The Canadians have learned

That if they try to play his games

Their people will get burned

To our own eternal shame

 

Our alliance remains on hold

For as long as he’s in power

Our relationship grows cold

In this most critical of hours

 

Here here! to your fair nation

For upholding your convictions

We give you our appreciation

For standing strong in opposition

 

* PM Mark Carney

 

 

House of Cards

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

House of Cards

 

You have no cards, the president said

He seemed to imply Ukraine was dead

This is not a game, Zelensky replied

Our president was on the other side

 

Now we move to the Strait of Hormuz

The president says you’ll pay your dues

But China has something else in mind

If you move ahead you may fall behind

 

The Iranians may not have the cards

But China does if we push too hard

They could furnish weapons across the border

And rearrange the new world order

 

If we want to play this deadly game

We should know that we’re the one to blame

Netanyahu may have started the war

But we’re the one who settled the score

 

Now we’re stuck in a terrible mess

We wanted it all but we’ll settle for less

The price of oil continues to rise

While the president issues his alibis

 

 

Budapest Awakening

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ORBAN

 

Budapest Awakening

 

Orban goes down to defeat

Putin’s cause is derailed

Peter Magyar takes his seat

The dictatorship has failed

 

The great alliance is restored

All of Europe is relieved

With Russia knocking on her door

The message is received

 

Budapest will hold the line

After sixteen years of iron rule

Democracy will do just fine

They won’t play Putin’s fool

 

Hungary has made it clear

With the west they are allied

No longer will they live in fear

They’ve taken back their pride

 

For now the world’s a better place

The autocrats have lost one

Tomorrow there’s another race

The fight for freedom’s just begun

 

 

The Deadline

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

The Deadline

 

No nation would tempt this fate

The loss of all it has built

Execution of its chief of state

Its wealth in oil spilt

 

Unless its pride is on the line

Surrender is not an option

We’ve placed them in an impossible bind

We don’t know how to stop them

 

How much will be enough?

Will we let the people suffer?

The Iranian people are tough

Just to prove that we are tougher

 

Will we hold them to this deadline

On the threat of mass destruction

Will we cross that humane line

Have we made that crude deduction?

 

We’ve learned nothing from the past

For war is not the answer

How long must this war last

Before we see that it’s the cancer?