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

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

Depleted

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Depleted

 

All our weapons are depleted

It couldn’t get much worse

Before this “mission” is completed

We’ll be riding in a hearse

 

They’re closing off the straits

They’re choking off supplies

We are awakening too late

To a waterfall of lies

 

We are sadly unprepared

For the wars that could unfold

Trapped in the dragon’s lair

All our options growing cold

 

Soon we’ll face the prospect

Of surrendering the cause

Of losing all respect

Of admitting all our flaws

 

Our leaders are incompetent

They are flailing in the night

Our interceptors have been spent

And the end is not in sight

 

This gross miscalculation

Is a betrayal of Ukraine

Instead of aiding that brave nation

Out munitions are constrained

 

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

 

 

Extinction

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

Extinction

 

The black rhino is no more

The bandicoot and wallaby

It seems humanity is at war

With everything that breathes

 

Extinction in the Gaza Strip

Extinction in Ukraine

Stack the bombs and let em rip

Our race has gone insane

 

Farewell to the shoreline

Farewell to clear blue skies

Is everybody feeling fine?

Welcome to the land of lies!

 

Wars and rumors of

Death and mass destruction

Hatred has displaced our love

A chain of flame eruptions

 

We are now a warlike nation

Our every move destroys

We spread annihilation

With a certain sense of joy

 

When it comes to extinction events

Humanity is not immune

Our time on earth is almost spent

In fact it’s past high noon

 

 

Relative Pain

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR

 

Relative Pain

 

What Iran experienced in four weeks

Ukraine has suffered for four long years

And Gaza has suffered for nearly three

The time for peace is long past near

 

While all eyes were turned to Iran

The way of the world goes on and on

The passage of time does not hold still

No matter how many are killed

 

Humans adapt to all manner of hell

That does not mean that all is well

Children will play in a pile of rubble

But we do not live in a bubble

 

Open your eyes to all these wars

Just imagine they’re at your door

They are open wounds we need to mend

The world must demand an end

 

The spoils of war can go on no longer

All civilized nations must come together

Institutions of peace must be stronger

To banish all wars forever

 

 

House of Cards

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

House of Cards

 

You have no cards, the president said

He seemed to imply Ukraine was dead

This is not a game, Zelensky replied

Our president was on the other side

 

Now we move to the Strait of Hormuz

The president says you’ll pay your dues

But China has something else in mind

If you move ahead you may fall behind

 

The Iranians may not have the cards

But China does if we push too hard

They could furnish weapons across the border

And rearrange the new world order

 

If we want to play this deadly game

We should know that we’re the one to blame

Netanyahu may have started the war

But we’re the one who settled the score

 

Now we’re stuck in a terrible mess

We wanted it all but we’ll settle for less

The price of oil continues to rise

While the president issues his alibis

 

 

Not Warming

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

Not Warming

 

The climate isn’t warming

The heat in Tulsa isn’t real

And the toxic sky isn’t harming

Or affecting how we feel

 

The snowpack isn’t down

The floods aren’t getting worse

It isn’t drying out the ground

It’s not the global warming curse

 

The price of oil isn’t higher

We aren’t burning more each day

And the kids aren’t getting tired

Of nearly everything we say

 

We’re not fighting a needless war

In a place so far from here

We’re not tearing up the shore

And the end ain’t drawing near

 

We aren’t losing jobs to robots

We aren’t making people poor

And we aren’t twisted into knots

Trying to squeeze a little more

 

We aren’t living in a nightmare

We are living in a dream

And no one we know is scared

That’s just the way it seems