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

 

 

Smog in LA

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

Smog in LA

 

We remember back in the day

Smog so thick you couldn’t breathe

A stifling layer of summer haze

From the great basin to the sea

 

California fought it back

It took years to clear the air

We led the nation on attack

We did far more than our share

 

Now we’ve lost what we had gained

The nation didn’t have our back

All our efforts were in vain

When the train fell off the tracks

 

Climate change is not a joke

The warming lingers into night

We’ve got to fix what we have broke

It’s a crushing fact of life

 

Does anybody really care

That what we’re leaving to our kids

Poisoned water, toxic air

We may have lost our final bid

 

 

Barrel of a Gun

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Barrel of a Gun

 

If you want a peace that doesn’t last

That leaves both parties stunned

Ignore the lessons of the past

Point the barrel of a gun

 

Sign the Abraham Accords

That’s the best deal you will get

Sign it now before we’re bored

You’ll forever be in our debt

 

We have the power to destroy

Though neither side has really won

We stand ready to deploy

You’re at the barrel of a gun

 

If lasting peace is what you want

Do not come to the table

This is just a propaganda stunt

To show the world we’re able

 

We don’t care what the future holds

A quick deal and then we’re done

Sign it before our patience folds

You’re at the barrel of a gun

 

Ukraine Rises (Again)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

 

Ukraine Rises Again

 

Trump humiliated Zelensky

The brave leader of Ukraine

He took up arms with the Israelis

In a war he can't sustain

 

Who is laughing now?

Who is feeling shamed?

Europe made a vow

To rise behind Ukraine

 

The barrier that was Orban

Who once stood in the way

Voted out, now that he’s gone

Europe stands with Ukraine

 

The futile war with Iran

Still searches for an end

As it pushes on and on

Netanyahu will not bend

 

Our leader made a foolish bet

He put our money down

Now we’re saddled with his debt

Our hands are tied and bound

 

Ukraine is on the rise

While we are in decline

We grow tired of his lies

He has put us in a bind