Netanyahu: Without Restraint

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL & GAZA

Netanyahu: Without Restraint

 

Bombing without restrictions

Killing without restraint

Killing journalists and children

They will hear no complaints

 

Gaza is in tatters

Lebanon is bombed to shreds

Netanyahu does not care

How many families are dead

 

There’s a new sheriff coming

He will arrive in several weeks

Kill as many as you can

You can’t be seen as weak

 

They are killing throughout Syria

Beirut is laid to waste

Any chance of finding peace

Will be lost in Israel’s haste

 

To slaughter all their enemies

To alienate their friends

To kill with full abandon

Before the war can end

Friends and Enemies

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SYRIA

Friends and Enemies (for Syria)

 

A friend becomes an enemy

An enemy becomes a friend

When circumstances dictate

Past problems we will mend

 

The world is a chess board

In which the pieces are exchanged

What once seemed so familiar

Now seems extremely strange

 

Whose side are you on boys?

On which side do you stand?

You stood with us today boys

Tomorrow you’ll disband

 

We’re sorry for the missiles

We’re sorry for the bombs

We’re sorry for mistaking

Which side you were on

 

Back then you fought for terror

We fought to free the land

We found it was in error

But now we understand

 

Our friends become our enemies

Enemies become our friends

If it never really matters

What message do we send?

 

Democracy in Syria

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Democracy in Syria

 

We hold our breath and wait

To see what happens next

There is a promise of freedom

There is hope and good cheer

The people gather in the streets

Where they cautiously proceed

Who will grasp the reigns?

Who will seize the power?

Will they use it in good will?

Or will they build a taller tower?

 

We pray for better days

We pray for peace and prosperity

We hope they pave the way

To a thriving new democracy

And yes we have our doubts

We have seen this act before

The best intended efforts

Have been lost to civil war

After the Fall

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SYRIA

After the Fall (Syria)

 

Assad is gone

The brutal dictator has flown away

Seeking refuge in Moscow

Leaving the signs of his depravity behind

Torture chambers and detention centers

The blood of the murdered

The screams of the dead

Assad is gone and hope is reborn

Yet hope is tainted with doubt

The millions who have fled

The Assad reign of terror

Wait in uncertainty

They celebrate the moment

They embrace the possibilities

Yet they do not yet come home

No one knows what happens next

No one can make the call

After the fall

 

We pray it is better

How could it be worse?

Yet we do not know

Will the new regime be open?

Will it crack down on dissent?

Will it move toward democracy?

Or will it shatter into pieces?

Syria is a nation in search of itself

Already it is under siege

Already it is under attack

The days and weeks that follow

Will determine all

After the fall

The Fall of Damascus

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SYRIA

The Fall of Damascus

 

In the absence of opposing power

Damascus will fall

 

Iran is weakened by the Israeli war

Russia cannot answer the call

Their soldiers are preoccupied

Up against a Ukrainian wall

The Islamic State is still alive

Turkey is fighting the Kurds

The rest are divided into disparate tribes

Awaiting the latest word

 

In the absence of an opposing power

The remaining powers thrive

 

What happens next nobody knows

Save that anarchy will reign

A constant struggle only grows

A land of chaos gone insane

The civil war will carry on

Until some party wins

The tyrant of the day is gone

The tyranny begins

 

In the absence of opposing power

The prevailing wind grows strong

 

Tears for Syria

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SYRIA

Tears for Syria

 

There are no good guys in Syria

All the world’s powers are engaged

For every force and philosophy

There is a cause to be enraged

 

The Russians and the Iranians

The Islamists and their jihad

The Israelis and the Americans

From Damascus to Islamabad

 

A civil war in perpetuity

There is no end within our sight

An endless maze of incongruity

A twisted, never-ending fight

 

If there is one good thing about it

It is the draining of resources

The warmongers on all sides

May be running short on forces

 

Syria under its dictatorship

Has become a warlord’s playground

There can be no good solution

A collective failure all around