The Fight for Democracy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

The Fight

 

The fight does not end November 3^rd

In fact it only begins

If you haven’t heard, spread the word

The losing side may win

 

When a man’s in love with power

He will not let it go

He will barricade his tower

And watch it all unfold

 

He will declare election fraud

Just like he has before

He’ll proclaim the word of God

And call his troops to war

 

What happens next we do not know

Will they take it to the streets?

Will we absorb another blow?

Will we yield to defeat?

 

Our republic is in jeopardy

If we do not put them down

They would make us out the enemy

And plant us in the ground

 

A New Leader in Ukraine

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

 

A New Leader in Ukraine

 

Our president wants a new leader

To handle business in Ukraine

The man who’s never been a reader

Should think twice or refrain

 

While Zelensky stands a thousand tests

Of his mettle and endurance

Trump cries foul and beats his chest

As he offers no assurance

 

He wants Ukraine to pay the price

For the foolish war he started

He wants Zelensky to be nice

All prior acts disregarded

 

It is as clear as it has always been

That Trump is on the other side

Vladimir Putin is his friend

Despite all the times he’s lied

 

We’re trying hard not to see

A cold and harsh reality

Putin helped elect this man

That explains his crude demand

 

A new election in Ukraine?

While the bombs and missiles fly?

Even you must feel the strain

Of sustaining all your lies

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Dear Canada

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

 

 

Dear Canada

 

Dear Canada,

Before our prospects dim

We implore you take us at our word

Despite whatever you have heard

We … are not him

 

We know you are a valued friend

Our alliance we hold high

We promise we will make amends

We vow that we will try

 

He treats our friends like enemies

Our enemies like friends

The great majority does not believe

The messages he sends

 

He will not be here much longer

Though we know he will apply

The opposition grows much stronger

We’ve grown tired of his lies

 

So please … a grain of salt

Although the next year may be grim

Understand it’s not our fault

For we … are not him

 

Cruel and Unusual

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IMMIGRATION

 

Cruel and Unusual

 

Deported to the C.A.R.*

For helping our nation in war*

Condemning them for who they are

To settle the president’s score

 

Cruel and unusual punishment

Is banned by our constitution

Is this what our president meant

As an immigrant solution?

 

A curse upon his family

A curse upon his head

This action is a travesty

The world is seeing red

 

Has the president no shame?

Does he know what he’s about?

He’s disgraced his family name

Our foundation is in doubt

 

His crimes are growing daily

His common decency is lost

He has no inkling of civility

And all must pay the cost

 

If we had a Court of Law

Instead of sycophants and slugs

We’d reverse these horrid flaws

Like a pesticide kills bugs

 

* Afghan refugee deported

  to the Central African Republic

 

Venezuela Suffers

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LATIN AMERICA

 

Venezuela Suffers

 

Nicolas Maduro is long gone

Delcy Rodriguez is in power

We promised to right all wrongs

But that promise begins to sour

 

Our president wants their oil

To fatten his own coffers

He doesn’t want Venezuelan soil

But he is open to all offers

 

The people still live in poverty

Blackouts are a way of life

Nothing’s changed in their society

Their lives are daily strife

 

There are no elections scheduled

They live under the oligarchs rule

All those promises have cooled

The believers look like fools

 

Will democracy ever return?

Will the oligarchs ever surrender?

Will the people still get burned?

Who will be the people’s defender?

 

Our president has no answers

We are in it for the oil

Our presence there is a cancer

Get off Venezuelan soil!

 

 

Closed (Hormuz Strait)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Closed

 

The Lincoln is abandoned *

The war still rages on

We’re down to muskets and cannons

Our fearlessness is gone

It’s a strange and deadly game

Where every turn seems wrong

The new military is dopin’

They are singing a new song

But the Strait is not open

And the war is getting long

 

We’re loud and we’re raging

We’re heading round the bend

Our ships and missiles aging

In a war that will not end

Our leaders are half mad

By now the whole world knows

It’s tragic and it’s sad

But that’s just how it goes

Everything is turning bad

And the Strait is still closed

 

It’s closed for the weekend

It’s closed another day

How long it’s closed depends

On what our leaders say

There is no way around

It might be closed til May

As our sense of outrage grows

And our hair is turning gray

But the Strait remains closed

And closed it will stay

 

* USS Lincoln

 

Big Tent Party

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Big Tent Party

 

The Democrats are on the run

The “Big Tent” party has failed

It allowed a right-wing charlatan

To run the nation off the rails

 

If you really want a Big Tent

Don’t attack the progressive wing

If you wonder where the voters went

They felt the corporate sting

 

Hey Big Brother, have you heard?

They’re leaving you behind

They aren’t afraid of “scary” words

The people make up their own minds

 

They like what the candidates represent

They like what they have to say

A party that falls short of Big Tent

Can only get in the way

 

Expand your way of thinking

There’s a mountain we must climb

The old party has been sinking

For a very, very long time

 

You’ve been losing all the races

We have lost our peace of mind

It is time to greet new faces

Of a new and fresher kind

 

We need a new unification

Of all parties in opposition

To save this faltering nation

With a new, enlightened mission