Rio in Red

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: BRAZIL

 

Rio in Red

 

A Brazilian flag is stained in red

After Rio’s deadly raid

Hundreds of bodies lying dead

All hope begins to fade

 

The favelas are in mourning

So many people dead

It came without a warning

Leaving only fear and dread

 

Who ordered this abomination?

This massacre of men

Was it meant to cause sensation?

Are they prepared to do it again?

 

Castro ordered the slaughter

The governor of the state

The people were cannon fodder

They met a gruesome fate

 

He accused them of narco terror

An accusation that covers all

No trials. What could be fairer?

Line em up against the wall

 

Is this the way of the world now?

Justice belongs to the strong

We do not ask why or how

We know in our hearts it’s wrong

 

 

The Illusionist

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP DAZE

 

The Illusionist

 

He creates a stunning façade

All that glitters is not gold

He perceives himself a god

His magic sparkling and bold

 

He vanquished part of the White House

Gone in rubble and dust

He will stage a spectacular roust

Shazam! There goes all trust!

 

But the Gaza destruction goes on

The wars he stopped were never there

Putin still strings him along

And the markets are chasing the bear

 

He instigates violence in the cities

He creates an illusion of order

The illusion is quick and pretty

He should use it on the southern border

 

He pretends that everything’s grand

He celebrates before it’s done

Have a party, strike up the band

Once again the king has won

 

But all he’s done is not real

He just spins his webs of illusion

A toss of the great spinning wheel

When he’s done there’s mass confusion

 

The War Must End

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR

 

The War Must End

 

The people of Gaza are tired of war

The Israeli people must bend

Let the waves of hatred be no more

It is time for the war to end

 

The Russian people have had their fill

Too long the Ukrainians defend

Their leaders must swallow a bitter pill

It is time for the war to end

 

Yet Putin will never give up the fight

As long as his pride depends

As long as the people believe he’s right

This war will never end

 

The Israelis will bomb to the end of days

As long as there’s money to spend

Their destructive might is on display

And the war will never end

 

When the Russian people are ready for peace

This message they will send

Putin’s vengeance must finally cease

It’s time for the war to end

 

When the Israeli people are ready for peace

This message they will send

Netanyahu’s war must finally cease

It is time for the war to end

 

As long as vengeance rules the day

The wounds of war will not mend

Subversion will always find a way

And the wars will never end

 

Freedom

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Freedom

 

Those who are blessed to be free

May not know how it would be

If our rights were taken from us

Would we even make a fuss?

 

When one innocent is imprisoned

All good people are on the run

Like a shadow on the sun

The light is blocked for everyone

 

When Peltier * was released

The light of freedom shined bright

Enabling all of us to breathe

Bringing freedom into sight

 

When we refuse to do our part

To stop oppression in plain view

There is an emptiness of heart

That informs us what to do

 

For all of us are in this now

From the farmers to the cops

Let our conscience show us how

Tell our government to stop

 

Freedom is a gift to all

Guaranteed by our constitution

If our sacred rights should fall

We must demand restitution

 

* Leonard Peltier, Lakota Spirit Guide

   Granted a pardon by Joe Biden

 

 

Trashing the White House

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

 

Trashing the White House

 

He’s trashed part of the White House

For a big and gilded ballroom

We’re all quiet as a mouse

As he destroys the nation’s heirloom

 

The destruction of antiquities

As bad as it may seem

Is nothing to the liquidity

Of the great American dream

 

The constitution is imperiled

The world’s order is in danger

The White House has gone feral

All our friends are now strangers

 

So he’s tearing the West Wing down

Like it’s a condo on the beach

All in service to his crown

There is little beyond his reach

 

He’s closing in on Mount Rushmore

What a conquest that would be

A golden bust that he’ll adore

Large enough for all to see

 

All the strongmen will agree

He’s the greatest show in town

For a modest if tainted fee

You can break the White House down

 

 

Police Lawlessness

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POLICE STATE

 

Police Lawlessness

 

When law enforcement officers

Do not obey the law

The system is fraught

With a critical flaw

 

When those in power

Abuse the force

The people are compelled

To find a new course

 

When the cop on the street

Can slam you to the ground

A new and better way

Demands to be found

 

We are a nation ruled by law

Not by vicious men in power

We demand a change of draw

Down to this very hour

 

If those behind the badge

Refuse to stand up for us all

It is time and time again

For their badges to fall

 

We need new officers of law

To defend the people’s will

The men and women we have now

Will only watch and stand still

 

While the people are abused

Tormented and detained

When it comes to use of force

They are rarely restrained

 

The Venezuelan Tragedy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LATIN AMERICA

 

The Venezuelan Tragedy

 

It is a sad and dreary history

The CIA backed operations

The torture and the travesties

The Bolivarian Revolution

Alleviation of mass poverty

The backlash of institutions

A betrayal of democracy

A reversal of solutions

Corruption and collusion

 

Hugo Chavez had it right

When he embraced social democracy

He kept the workers in his sight

Til he was tempted by autocracy

When Maduro took the reigns

He enacted one-man rule

It became an old refrain

Oppression cold and cruel

 

Had Chavez lived who knows?

His cause might have remained true

But now the discontent grows

When they win the people lose

The democratic movement slows

Their elections are a ruse

The Americans are landing blows

The Venezuelans are abused

 

Mister Speaker (No Kings)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Mister Speaker (No Kings)

 

How dare you Mister Speaker

Accusing us of hate

Your case could not be weaker

Our America is great

 

Yours is less than honest

You speak with forked tongues

While your twisted leader cons us

Into giving up our young

 

You’d like to fix the game

That we call voting rights

To your eternal shame

You’re gunning for a fight

 

We’re fighting for the nation

In its democratic pride

You’re pushing subjugation

Oppression system wide

 

We stand for our traditions

Against treachery and fear

You’re guilty of sedition

There will be no kings here

 

 

Each in Their Own Way (No Kings)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: DEMOCRACY

 

Each in Their Way (No Kings)                                                                      

 

The are holding a great rally today

A mass gathering in the streets of protest

Some will march and some will pray

Let each for each decide what’s best

 

For each will give in his or her own way

That must be decided for oneself

A gathering of protest for this day

A secret wish that all will turn out well

 

Let all be welcomed to this growing cause

Let all who rise proclaim it far and loud

We stand for truth and justice within the law

For all who stand the nation should be proud

 

Some will gather stones and call us names

For truth and justice aren’t without cost

Those who stand it now can have no shame

Knowing that this war cannot be lost

 

Those who march have many more behind

A rising tide will lift all boats at sea

Believers in the cause are of one mind

No kings, no queens, no rights of monarchy

 

Democracy (No Kings!)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Democracy (No Kings)

 

They will accuse us of betrayal

They will scorn at our elitism

They will threaten with reprisal

They will brand us with communism

 

But we are not the nation’s traitors

Our people aren’t the elites

We are not the treasure raiders

We will not march to your beat

 

For we are loyal to the cause

That your leaders have forgotten

Along with fundamental laws

Your chosen government is rotten

 

We believe in the republic

You’re deceived in crowning kings

We refuse to be their subjects

Behold the outrage we will bring

 

We are defenders of the nation

To the best of its intent

With the pride of its foundation

We oppose this president

 

Corruption in DC

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Corruption

 

The White House is for sale

It really isn’t a mystery

He’ll put your enemies in jail

The most corrupt in history

 

Twenty billion for a crypto fraud

From the United Arab Emirates

If you own his crypto applaud

If you don’t you will not benefit

 

Twenty billion for rightwing dictator

Argentina’s Javier Milei

To circumvent the liquidator

So that he might survive the day

 

A new golf course in Indonesia

What will they get for that?

Do the people have amnesia?

Do they forget they smelled a rat?

 

The most corrupt presidency ever

That includes the Teapot Dome

Kaching! Just pull the lever

The chief will guide you home

 

The Insurrection Act

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

The Insurrection Act

 

The nation’s leading insurrectionist

The only one we’ve seen in fact

A closet segregationist

Invokes the Insurrection Act

 

The irony is beyond rich

The train runs off the tracks

He’ll run it straight into a ditch

Invoke the Insurrection Act

 

We’re on the road to disaster

Once there there’s no way back

All because our great white master

Invokes the Insurrection Act

 

He regards us all as slaves

Living in our rundown shacks

It will haunt us to our graves

When he invokes The Act

 

We will live under his rule

We will have lost all our rights

The oppression will be cruel

It is not too late to fight

 

Democracy in Peru

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LATIN AMERICA

 

Peruvian Democracy

 

Crime is the enemy of a civil society

When crime rises, trust declines

Bringing discontent and social anxiety

Democratic values fall behind

 

In Peru they send their leaders to jail

For failure to stop the criminal waves

That’s what happens when society fails

Corruption pulls them to an early grave

 

Now that Boluarte is out and Jeri is in

The demand for change will be growing

The countdown to elections will begin

They hope the crime rate will be slowing

 

Democracy can’t be a revolving wheel

That does not address the people’s needs

When government abuses power to steal

It is replaced with lightning speed

 

The enduring lesson of Peru’s democracy

Is that stability must take hold

To prevent the danger of autocracy

The people must be strong and bold

 

 

The Argentinian Compromise

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LATIN AMERICA

 

Argentinian Compromise

 

Between a steamroller and a boulder

The Argentinians are in crisis

The prospects are growing colder

With their inflationary prices

 

On one side looms the dragon

The full forces of oppression

Put your pesos in their wagon

You will be headed for depression

 

On the other is the autocrat

The unvarnished force of greed

If this is where your country’s at

Argentina is bound to bleed

 

The land with a tortured history

Is a land in desperate need

With a leader who is lost

And who will pay most any cost

 

To maintain his hold on power

Despite the welfare of the nation

As we approach the final hour

That will define their destination