Apology to Spain

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: EUROPE

 

Apology to Spain

 

We apologize to Spain

For our president’s rude demand

Let’s make more than plain

That’s not the people’s stand

 

We value Spanish sovereignty

Her people and her place

Her legacy and dignity

Her balance and her grace

 

We know that Spain will not bow down

To our president’s command

She will proudly stand her ground

She will always lend a hand

 

All of Europe has her back

She will never stand alone

For the Union will not crack

No matter how much he groans

 

He is not the King of the West

Though he may believe he is

As our history will attest

The future is not his

 

(Trump demands an end to

trade with Spain)

 

Reluctant Ally (NATO)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: NATO

 

Reluctant Ally 

 

The alliance is no stronger

Than the weakest of her links

When common purpose is no longer

The alliance slowly sinks

 

We are a grudging ally

A partner from afar

The rules of conduct don’t apply

When this is where we are

 

He rails against all members

Who do not shower him with praise

Every slight he will remember

His fickle mood becomes a craze

 

He pleads for their assistance

In a losing cause of war

When faced with strong resistance

We can hear his hollow roar

 

It comes down to the Strait

He can’t believe it isn’t ours

The alliances must wait

As we recalculate the powers

 

If the US does not lead

The vacuum will be filled

Europe’s working at light speed

With renewed strength of will

 

 

Against Our Own

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Against Our Own

 

Brother have you heard?

The Social Democrats are gaining

We’ve gotten tired of explaining

We are not afraid of words

 

Do not expect perfect purity

It does not exist in government

But if you like your Social Security

It will help you pay the rent

 

Then there’s Medicaid and Medicare

Those ideas are purely socialist

It is nothing less than what is fair

It is not about McCarthy’s list *

 

The Democrats are infamous

For turning on their own

Give a chance and they’ll blame us

They will throw the first stone

 

The old school is out of touch

No one cares about the name

It’s clear the wealthy have too much

The elite have fixed the game

 

If you’d like to take the power back

Unification is required

Spare your own the old attacks

Your arguments are tired

 

* Senator Joseph McCarthy’s

   infamous Black List

 

 

The Klan

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

The Klan

 

The Klan is alive and well

And thriving in D.C.

They’re pounding the Liberty Bell

They are soldiers and police

 

The Klan is in the White House

They are on the White House lawn

Feeling eager and aroused

Awaiting a new dawn

 

An age of white supremacy

The whites hold all the power

An old and well-worn legacy

The light in every tower

 

They’re armed and standing ready

Their commander is the president

They’re holding strong and steady

Their leaders are in residence

 

It’s a battle we must fight again

As long as freedom reigns

We don’t know or when

But the threat is more than plain

 

The Klan is a bold atrocity

A stain on our ideals

A deplorable philosophy

And yet it’s very real

 

America the Bold

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN HISTORY

 

America the Bold

 

Let there be a new America

Like the America of old

The one that landed on the moon

America the bold

 

I remember that America

That shining star of glory

The one that welcomed all aboard

The hero in the story

 

We sailed across the vast blue sea

America the brave

We found a land inhabited

And dug them an early grave

 

But we rose above our travesty

We founded a republic

Embraced the nation’s majesty

The tired, poor and sick

 

We fought our share of wars

For purpose good and bad

America the powerful

The best we’ve ever had

 

We rose to meet our destiny

A nation of all kinds

Together we were meant to be

A nation color blind

 

We’ll find our way back home again

America’s been sold

The greatest we have ever been

America the bold

 

America the Gold

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICA

 

America the Gold

 

A Golden Ballroom for the rich

The massive crypto currency grift

An arch of triumph to his glory

A total rewrite of the nation’s story

 

This is not America

This is something sick and strange

This is not America

The very concept is deranged

 

A war for Netanyahu

It was supposed to last a week

Pretending that a lie is true

The prospects growing bleak

 

This is not America

It wears a thin façade

This is not America

The man thinks he’s a god

 

The killing of the daily news

The tampering with elections

Denial of the right to choose

Obfuscation and deflection

 

This is not America

More like a third-world nation

This is not America

It’s a criminal organization

 

 

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

 

The warming hits them harder

Than most of the 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