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

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Arresting Democracy (France)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Arresting Democracy

 

What are we to make of the protests in France?

More of the same?

A familiar refrain?

Or something that cuts more deeply?

 

Macron has far too often turned

Too far to the right

Too eager to fight

On the side of the rich and privileged

 

He wants cuts in social spending

Spare those with wealth

Make cuts to health

The spirit of the French is ending

 

They are gathered on the streets again

To end the rule

To support the schools

They are tired of feeling betrayed

 

They are fighting with a brutal force

To stifle their voice

They have no choice

There must be law and order

 

But the people of France will have their say

They know their rights

They’re willing to fight

For France and the liberal way

 

Rights on Hold

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Rights on Hold

 

When rights are suspended for others

We sacrifice much of our own

What we do to one another

Must one day be atoned

 

When our rights are placed on hold

When the guarantee is lost

It means our rights can be sold

By any cruel and ruthless boss

 

We have placed our fate in hands

That never should be trusted

It’s too late to understand

When all your friends are busted

 

So you thought it was just the others

The ones with darker skin

Then they came for your brothers

And your rationale grew thin

 

Now you’re running with the rest of us

And you regret those things you did

Now you’re in the back of the bus

With the servants and their kids

 

 

The Guard in LA

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CIVIL LIBERTIES

 

The Guard in LA

 

To brutalize the people

Is not the duty of the Guard

You’re leaving us no option

But to push back hard

 

The agents of the Homeland

Are completely out of place

Waging war against the people

An incredible disgrace

 

The people do not want you here

Throw your weapons to the ground

You’re marketing in hate and fear

To this course you are not bound

 

For this is not a war zone

No one summoned you for aid

The violence you’ve caused has grown

Tear down your damned blockades

 

Ask yourselves what you are serving

The cause of peace or war

The people here are not deserving

They’re just unfortunate and poor

 

 

 

The Shadow of Istanbul

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

The Shadow of Istanbul

 

What happens in Turkey does not stay in Turkey

 

Its shadow of darkness spreads

like a chilling wave over the land

and across the sea injecting poison

into the body politick even in the

land of the free

 

What happens in Istanbul does not stay in Istanbul

 

It foreshadows the nightmares to come

as the gathering force of protest and

resistance builds in towns and cities

across the nation

 

How long will the president endure the

indignity of dissent?

 

He has imposed the Alien Enemies Act*

to deport residents to foreign prisons

 

How long before he declares martial law

to nullify the right to assemble in protest?

 

He has ordered mass deportation without

regard to due process of law

 

How long before he orders the mass

detention of law-abiding protestors?

 

They are holding show trials in Istanbul

to see how far they can go

 

Are there enough prisons to imprison dissent?

 

There are if we count El Salvador

 

What happens in Turkey does not stay in Turkey

 

By tomorrow it will be here

 

* Alien Enemies Act of 1798

Fight Back

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RESISTANCE

 

Fight Back

 

Never give up the fight

When the fight is in the making

Keep your enemy in sight

Take what’s for the taking

 

They will try to break your spirit

They’ll push you til you bend

They think you’ll come to fear it

They hope you won’t defend

 

Show them what you stand for

You’re the ones who will not quit

Keep knocking on that grand door

Until the victory light is lit

 

You may not always win

But you will always stand up proud

When you give the wheel a spin

Say it clear and say it loud:

 

We’ll fight against all odds

We’ll fight for all it’s worth

We’ll fight against the gods

And the beasts who rule the earth

 

Streets of Protest

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Streets of Protest

 

The streets of protest are alive

We march to show we care

For democracy we strive

Our cause is everywhere

 

On the streets of Palestine

For those who disagree

Who refuse to toe the line

Who will not bend the knee

 

For the people of Ukraine

Whose freedom is at stake

For those who are restrained

For the laws they did not break

 

For those who lost their jobs

And those who are in need

For the large, angry mobs

Who are tired of greed

 

For the ones who live in fear

Of the troubled times ahead

For the moms who shed a tear

At the cost of gas and bread

 

We’re on the streets again

For those who have no voice

This time we will win

We demand a better choice

The Silence

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: PROTEST

 

The Silence

 

They have silenced the voice of America

The voice of freedom and human rights

They have silenced the voice of Americans

As if we’ve given up the fight

 

The fight for progress and democracy

Against oppression and autocracy

The right to decency and civility

Without regard to one’s ability

 

They have silence dissenting voices

With a threat of retribution

They would eliminate our choices

Intimidation is their solution

 

They have silenced former presidents

The free media and the press

Mass oppression is in residence

The right to march the streets in protest

 

We will not give up the fight

We will retain our defiance

We’ll demand our civil rights

We will never yield to silence