Forever War

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR

 

Forever War

 

We are thrust into forever war

From east to west, from shore to shore

As warlords try their best to score

We protest: war no more

 

Putin lets his people down

Condemned to live in poverty

He’s planted thousands in the ground

He will leave a deadly legacy

 

Netanyahu never has enough

He wants forever war

He doesn’t care if life is rough

His inner lion roars

 

These wars are like a cancer

They spread like wildfire

They do not want an answer

The warlords never tire

 

It’s time the people intervened

There is no other way

Let protest be forever seen

Every night and every day

 

The ballot box in Tel Aviv

Mass resistance across Moscow

The warlords must be forced to leave

The time to act is now

 

 

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

 

A Dangerous Game

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: VLADIMIR PUTIN

      

A Dangerous Game

 

Putin thinks he is immune

To the consequence of his actions

He may learn very soon

Every action has a reaction

 

His attempted attack on Germany *

Though it failed to hit its mark

Was reckless beyond reckoning

For the fires it could spark

 

If Berlin is under attack

All of NATO is obliged

To strike the aggressor back

By invoking Article Five

 

He is playing a dangerous game

That could thrust the world into war

It’s further evidence he’s insane

He acts like a rabid boar

 

He will strike out in all directions

Without strategy or care

He would spread a grim infection

If it serves the Russian bear

 

It is time to rein him in

This has gone on far too long

In a war he will not win

The opposition must be strong

 

* Drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport

 

Ukrainian Divide

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

 

Ukrainian Divide

 

The fired minister* raises objections

He calls for reinstatement

And a new wartime election

Challenging the government

Dividing representation

Threatening to foment

 

We know it’s been a long time

Without the people’s confirmation

But dividing now would be a crime

Creating chaos and destabilization

 

Ukraine has stood the test

Under massive military pressure

It’s not time to reinvest

In someone clearly lesser

 

You have problems with Zelensky

But he has handled it with zeal

What Putin wants and needs

Is an election he could steal

 

You are winning in this war

When no one thought you had a chance

It’s just not time to shut the door

Put your head down and advance

 

* Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov

 

A Dagger to the Heart

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

 

Dagger

 

Ukraine is desperate for supplies

Among them interceptors

To clear missiles from their skies

With defenders and detectors

 

But they were shipped to the Saud’s

To the Emirates and Bahrain

To defend against “the gods”

Instead of fighting for Ukraine

 

We let them fight the Russian beast

As if we didn’t have a stake

We helped Zelensky fight the least

We let go for Putin’s sake

 

We’re running short of munitions

All the experts will explain

Along with chronic indecision

We’ve betrayed brave Ukraine

 

And yet they found a way to fight

Against all odds with Europe’s aid

Knowing they were in the right

Knowing Trump was being played

 

Who among us did not see

That Netanyahu was insane?

This war for the Israelis

Is a dagger to the heart of Ukraine

 

 

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

 

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

 

Smoke over St Petersburg

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

 

Smoke over Saint Petersburg

 

The Russian people are tired of war

Though lately they haven’t said a word

They caught a glimpse of what’s in store

With the smoke over St Petersburg

 

Where there is smoke there is fire

The explosions can be heard

The defiance they’ve inspired

There is smoke over St Petersburg

 

The war goes on and on and on

In Kiev it’s an everyday thing

From dusk until the break of dawn

The drones and missiles sing

 

Yet they’re hanging on defiantly

They show no signs of quitting

They’ve shown their strength quietly

The Russians they’re outwitting

 

As Americans join the Putin crowd

It’s as ugly as it is absurd

Ukrainians stand bold and proud

There’s smoke over St Petersburg

 

They are enduring the assault

The endless missiles and attacks

We all know it’s Putin’s fault

Now Ukraine is fighting back

 

The Silence of America

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  UKRAINE

 

The Silence of America

 

As Russia launched a devastating attack

Into the beating heart of Ukraine

Zelensky pleaded with the world to strike back

To make their collective outrage plain

 

London, Berlin and the European Union

Condemned the blatant escalation

The free world stood in communion

All except one lonely nation

 

The silence of America was loud

Like a shot in the quiet of night

Vladimir Putin must have been proud

He has silenced America’s might

 

The world must revise its alliance

NATO and all free nations

In light of America’s silence

They can hardly expect salvation

 

They know that this can’t last forever

This aversion to freedom’s cause

The nation from its roots is severed

Not forever but just for a pause

 

America will be herself again

We can only wait and pray

Greater than we’ve ever been

A nation that will not stray

 

 

Budapest Awakening

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ORBAN

 

Budapest Awakening

 

Orban goes down to defeat

Putin’s cause is derailed

Peter Magyar takes his seat

The dictatorship has failed

 

The great alliance is restored

All of Europe is relieved

With Russia knocking on her door

The message is received

 

Budapest will hold the line

After sixteen years of iron rule

Democracy will do just fine

They won’t play Putin’s fool

 

Hungary has made it clear

With the west they are allied

No longer will they live in fear

They’ve taken back their pride

 

For now the world’s a better place

The autocrats have lost one

Tomorrow there’s another race

The fight for freedom’s just begun

 

 

In Good Faith

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR

 

In Good Faith

 

When we bargain with Ukraine

We serve as Putin’s protégé

When we talk with Tehran

We’re like a puppet on a stage

 

Trump has lost his dirty war

Vladimir is off his game

Netanyahu keeps the score

Every party shares the blame

 

We do not bargain in good faith

We make demands and threats

You can’t negotiate with hate

The wars are piling up the debts

 

In the end we’ll have won nothing

But a damaged reputation

To give it credence is insulting

Time to face the implications

 

That our leader is a child

Bomb the world to have his way

The laws of reason he’s defiled

For these acts we’ll have to pay

 

 

Remembering Navalny

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RUSSIA

 

Remember Navalny

 

The evidence is finally in

Though it comes in very late

It was no one but Vladimir Putin

That sealed Navalny’s fate

 

He was in a Russian prison

So there can be no doubt

It was Vladimir’s decision

To take Navalny out

 

Still the struggle rages on

Without an end in sight

But Navalny is gone

So it is a leaderless fight

 

But the people are aware

That their leader is a killer

They are waiting everywhere

The next chapter in this thriller

 

Alexei Navalny is dead

But his spirit still lives on

If we follow out the thread

There may be a new Russian dawn

 

Russian Mercenaries

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RUSSIA

 

Russian Mercenaries

 

They don’t have enough soldiers

To fight their war against Ukraine

But they’re sending mercenaries to Mali

To join a war of the insane

 

They don’t believe in their cause

Because the cause is not their own

They’re fundamentally flawed

Like a heart made of stone

 

They pay the North Korean poor

To boost their numbers in Ukraine

But every mercenary war

Is a war fought in vain

 

They ignore all human rights

They practice torture and abuse

When they have lost the will to fight

Their iron grip will shake loose

 

The Russians are a scourge

On the entire human race

Their forces should be purged

From each and every civilized place

 

 

The Darkest Hour

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

 

The Darkest Hour

 

When given immoral dictums

You have a right to refrain

When the righteous are the victims

As they are in fair Ukraine

 

It seems America has abandoned

The democratic cause

With the Kremlin in tandem

We are down to last straws

 

We ask little of the aggressor

We demand much of Ukraine

A territorial divestiture

The resistance was in vain

 

But Ukraine is not alone

Europe will not turn its back

They will stand up for their own

Until the cause is back on track

 

We are in the darkest hours

It seems the walls are closing in

An alliance of dark powers

Let us pray they do not win

 

If the allies would prevail

In the defense of fair Ukraine

Before the path grows stale

We must endure greater pain