Enemies and Friends

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CHINA

 

Enemies and Friends

 

China is not our enemy

But she is not our friend

She reminds us what we want to be

On democracy depends

 

She has billions in cheap labor

Yet she’s progressing over time

She is not a gracious neighbor

There are mountains she must climb

 

She does not need our trade

But with it she has prospered

With the profits she has made

She’ll be receiving offers

 

We can help her moving forward

But not without conditions

We’ll both give our solemn word

We won’t alter our positions

 

Taiwan remains independent

Despite Chinese demands

Just like Canada and Greenland

A message must be sent

 

We can work it out together

Without bitterness or war

The future will be better

If we’d give a little more

 

 

Pay for Play

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORRUPTION

 

Pay for Play

 

He takes gold for considerations

An end to foreign tariffs

Exemptions for preferential nations

You have got to pay the sheriff

 

Gold encrusted diamond rings

A suitcase filled with cash

Gilded treasures for the king

An invitation to the bash

 

If you’d like to make a deal

You’ve got to pay for his attention

To make a strong appeal

There are things we cannot mention

 

For a modest seven figures

He’ll open up the White House doors

If you’d like to use his signature

It may cost a little more

 

It’s pay to play for two more years

Get it while you can

The end of days is drawing near

It’s time to make your brand

 

Corrupt? It’s just a word

That’s how it’s always done

No matter what you’ve heard

It’s been a helluva run

 

October 7 Revisited

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GAZA WAR

 

October 7 Revisited

 

Shame on Netanyahu

To deny the obvious truth

There is little doubt he knew

And yet what did he do?

 

He withdrew from the border

His troops were unprepared

It was him who gave the orders

His generals wouldn’t dare

 

He was warned by the Emirates

He was warned by Egypt too

As for Israeli intelligence

It is all too clear they knew

 

He gave Hamas a pass

So that he could wage his war

It happened hard and fast

And it opened up the door

 

So many innocents dies that day

The torture, rape and killing

Inhumanity was on display

The effect was cold and chilling

 

Netanyahu swore revenge

In a new forever war

This hatred would never end

Like a dagger to the core

 

Could he have taken action?

He didn’t raise a hand

His party split in factions

We could never understand

 

Russia V. NATO

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: NATO

 

Russia Versus NATO

 

As Russia threatens Europe’s land

The question will arise

Will America back the NATO ban

When missiles start to fly?

 

It is a simple question

That doesn’t have a simple answer

Has our leader learned a lesson

Or will he just engage in banter?

 

Would the US be expelled

From the free world’s great alliance?

When it’s clear that we have failed

In an act of pure defiance

 

An attack on one is an attack on all

So it says in Article Five

Will America be the first to fall

From the wall of the allied?

 

Putin seems determined

To test our strength of will

The Polish, French and Germans

Are feeling America’s chill

 

The world would realign

With the absence of our force

The future would unwind

On a strained and different course

 

 

The Marker

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORRUPTION

 

The Marker

 

When a mob boss gives you something

Like a yacht on the Baltic Sea

A ruby necklace or a diamond ring

You can bet it isn’t free

 

He’s gonna call your marker

He’s going to call it soon

Just like a circus barker

He’s gonna play your tune

 

Elon gave a half a bill

To put you in the White House

But when he came to do his will

All his dreams were doused

 

He’s gonna call your marker

He’s going to call it soon

Just like a circus barker

He’s gonna play your tune

 

Putin gave you treasures

That no one really knows

Were there illicit pleasures

That the Epstein files would show?

 

He’s gonna call your marker

He’s going to call it soon

Just like a circus barker

He’s gonna play your tune

 

When the crypto kings came calling

When they gave you just a taste

The competition started falling

You changed your mind in haste

 

They’re gonna call your marker

They’re going to call it soon

Just like a circus barker

They’re gonna play your tune

 

Bravo Mark Carney!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CANADA

 

Bravo Mark Carney

 

Prime Minister Mark Carney

Stood tall and strong in the Hague

He declared his case for liberty

On the biggest European stage

 

The United States under Donald Trump

Has betrayed our closest allies

He faced a choice to take the lumps

Or to be stronger, smarter, wise

 

His word were proudly spoken

Of common principles and foundations

He spoke of his true devotion

To his people and his nation

 

Our president may forsake it

But he has pushed them to this act

Now he’ll have to grin and take it

Or accelerate his attack

 

Canada will stand up strong

They have given us fair warning

They’ve put up with him far too long

Now we awaken to a new morning

 

It’s the only way to deal with him

The biggest bully on the block

Rise up and his light will dim

He is running out the clock

 

Banned

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: FREE PRESS

 

Banned

 

If he had read the first amendment

(some doubt he reads at all)

The work of our descendants

The free press cannot fall

 

But he doesn’t like their inquisition

The push him into a rage

They challenge all of his positions

Draw attention to his age

 

So he takes away their access

He throws them out the door

Like they’re all a bunch of pests

He won’t see them anymore

 

Yet he’ll see them on the daily news

He’ll see them at their best

He’ll see them when the people choose

The freedom of the press

 

They will yell it from the mountaintop

The president has no clothes

They’ll tell it when his rallies flop

And when resistance grows

 

He banned them from the White House

But he can’t take their right to speak

He’s as feeble as a field mouse

He’s a man well past his peak

 

And everybody knows it well

The people want him gone

We’d like to send him straight to jail

His kingdom for a pawn

 

The Fuehrer's Berlin

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

 

The Fuehrer’s Berlin

 

The fuehrer had elaborate plans

For the remaking of Berlin

A reimagining so far beyond grand

To immortalize the Nazi win

 

He used imprisoned labor

French prisoners, jews and gypsies

To build tributes to their savior

Under the watch of Nazi police

 

A triumphant arch so huge

It made small the arch in Paris

Lost in the allies deluge

We’ve forgotten the fuehrer’s kiss

 

His ego could not be contained

He imagined himself on a throne

All other kings would be plain

He would rise above them alone

 

The fuehrer saw it all in a dream

Just as someone sees it today

He would be the king of all kings

And to him the people would pray

 

Russian Elections

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RUSSIA

 

Russian Elections

 

An election in Mother Russia

Is like a mandatory convention

Voters show up because they must

Despite their contrary intentions

 

Putin banned the opposition

Those opposed to the war in Ukraine

Their votes are cast in derision

Though they know the war’s insane

 

What point is there in voting

When there is no chance of change?

When your vote is just promoting

A leader who’s deranged?

 

The times cry out for protests

In every town and city square

Though they’ll be subject to arrest

Let them know the people care

 

They have buried many martyrs

They’ve imprisoned thousands more

You’re the stick Navalny stirred

You know Putin’s keeping score

 

There can be no election days

When the ballot is impaired

Let us call it mass resistance day

Let there be protests everywhere

 

 

A New Alliance

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CANADA

 

A New Alliance

 

America’s loss is Europe’s gain

(if America is the United States)

While our relationship is feeling strained

The Europeans are feeling great

 

Our president wants to own them

Convert them to the 51^st state

He regards them as a northern gem

If only they’d cooperate

 

Canada has a different notion

An alliance with another union

Terms of agreement are in motion

Soon the deal will be done

 

Europe’s gain is America’s loss

A wider sphere of influence

They want a partner, not a boss

A measure of their defiance

 

They’ll try again when Trump is gone

They are tired trying to please him

They’ll wait until the coming dawn

Til then they’ll just release him

 

Nexus in Texas

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Nexus

 

It all comes together in Texas

In a region known as Big Bend

In this place and time it’s the nexus

Upon which our future depends

 

The people do not want a wall

In a place there is no need

This is where their power falls

And their movement starts to bleed

 

It’s a teacher against a crook

Ken Paxton wrote the book

Talarico represents new blood

Ken Paxton is covered in mud

 

Will the people finally realize

Their representatives are corrupt?

Will they wake up to all the lies

And tell them they’ve had enough?

 

It’s a dollar to a dime

It’s a mountain they have to climb

It’s their chance to break the chains

Their loss is the people’s gain

 

Dirty Rotten Killers

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POLICE STATE

 

Dirty Rotten Killers

 

You dirty rotten killers

You’re at it again

You all think you’re in a thriller

You all think you’re gonna win

 

You’re working for the devil

Though you might think he’s your friend

You might think he’s on the level

But your time’s about to end

 

The people rise against you

As your vile tactics grow

You will not be renewed

That much you should know

 

You will have to pay the piper

For all the damage you have done

All you dirty rotten snipers

We will have you on the run

 

Your pardons will not matter

Your crimes are documented

All of you will scatter

You are evil and demented

 

So get it while you can

Your judgement day will come

We’ll wipe away your brand

You dirty rotten bums

 

(re: ICE tactics in Virginia)

 

HAL 9000

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TECHNOLOGY

 

HAL 9000

 

Hal 9000 is alive and well *

He’s no longer confined to fiction

He casts a shadow and mystic spell

That defies definitive description

 

The power is beyond imagining

It has only begun to show

No one knows what’s really happening

It has grown beyond our control

 

There are no regulations in place

No kill switch or common safeguards

Is it a threat to the human race?

They don’t hold us in high regard

 

We’re expected to let it flow

Like a river to a barren sea

Yet the danger will only grow

If our policy is let it be

 

It’s enough to make us weary

Of the greedy souls in charge

It is not a conspiracy theory

The reality is hitting hard

 

Very soon it will be too late

To do anything else but pray

AI will determine our fate

In the breath that it takes to say:

 

Open the pod bay door, Hal …

 

* From 2001: A Space Odyssey

 

The Shock of 9-11

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN HISTORY

 

The Shock of 9-11

 

The shock of nine eleven

Still reverberates today

Three thousand souls in heaven

The world had lost its way

 

We remember all the tears

We remember all the rage

The recurring chain of fear

The global war on terror age

 

Our nation went to war

Long before we could assess

What they were fighting for

In a war against the west

 

We started in Afghanistan

Like the Russians did before

We fought against the Taliban

In a misbegotten war

 

We moved over to Iraq

Though no one knew what for

Like the winding of a clock

A long and futile war

 

We finally got Bin Laden

With a strike in Pakistan

At last we found revenge

Though it never was the plan

 

We mourn the lives we lost

We mourn the dead of war

The horrific human cost

Of that cold September morn