Reluctant Ally (NATO)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: NATO

 

Reluctant Ally 

 

The alliance is no stronger

Than the weakest of her links

When common purpose is no longer

The alliance slowly sinks

 

We are a grudging ally

A partner from afar

The rules of conduct don’t apply

When this is where we are

 

He rails against all members

Who do not shower him with praise

Every slight he will remember

His fickle mood becomes a craze

 

He pleads for their assistance

In a losing cause of war

When faced with strong resistance

We can hear his hollow roar

 

It comes down to the Strait

He can’t believe it isn’t ours

The alliances must wait

As we recalculate the powers

 

If the US does not lead

The vacuum will be filled

Europe’s working at light speed

With renewed strength of will

 

 

Foreign Policy Blunder

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Foreign Policy Blunder

 

We were going to rule the world with thunder

The awesome might of our war machine

What we got instead was a massive blunder

One of the worst we’ve ever seen

 

Whose was the brain behind this mess?

Did they not foresee the Hormuz Strait?

The MAGA team has failed the test

They have not made America great

 

They thought it was a piece of cake

A quick and easy declaration

All our enemies would awake

To an age of American domination

 

Benjamin Netanyahu is not pleased

He led our leader by the nose

He’ll tell his people we appeased

But the sense of skepticism grows

 

Our president has made a colossal error

His party will go down in flames

He has unleashed a world of terror

He should hide his head in shame

 

 

Sealing the Deal

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Sealing the Deal

 

With Iran we’re signing a deal

To signal an end to the war

We will wait to see if it’s real

Is it done or will there be more?

 

They will open the Strait of Hormuz

We will end the naval blockade

Once signed will it be through?

Will Israeli hold finally fade?

 

And what will the small print say?

Will Iran give up its ambitions?

Will they forfeit control of the Strait?

Who then will make the decisions?

Of course we had a deal before

When Obama headed the team

Iran had abandoned its course

But Trump didn’t like how it seemed

 

So he ripped it apart at the seams

And called it a terrible deal

It was one of his favorite themes

It fostered the MAGA appeal

 

Now we’ll work toward the same end

That Obama achieved without war

On Iran the deal will depend

The Israelis will always want more

 

 

Barrel of a Gun

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Barrel of a Gun

 

If you want a peace that doesn’t last

That leaves both parties stunned

Ignore the lessons of the past

Point the barrel of a gun

 

Sign the Abraham Accords

That’s the best deal you will get

Sign it now before we’re bored

You’ll forever be in our debt

 

We have the power to destroy

Though neither side has really won

We stand ready to deploy

You’re at the barrel of a gun

 

If lasting peace is what you want

Do not come to the table

This is just a propaganda stunt

To show the world we’re able

 

We don’t care what the future holds

A quick deal and then we’re done

Sign it before our patience folds

You’re at the barrel of a gun

 

The Shots

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

 

The Shots

 

I call the shots!

You think that you do

Netanyahu does not!

We know that’s not true

 

You think you’re the man

No one else pulls the strings

You’re the one in command

You can do anything

 

Netanyahu just smiles

And says you’re the best

And still all the while

He couldn’t care less

 

He will do as he pleases

And that’s war to the end

Until our aid ceases

He will call you his friend

 

He calls the shots

Like Cheney for Bush

This war will be fought

Until his last push

 

He’s played you the fool

He’ll play you again

It’s his golden rule

It’s mice against men

 

Netanyahu's War

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Netanyahu’s War

 

Netanyahu’s doing all he can

To defeat the cause of peace

That is the constant Israeli plan

He wants them all deceased

 

Trump has tired of the war

He wants to open up the Strait

He can’t remember what it’s for

There’s too much on his plate

 

But Bebe’s war will never end

As long as he’s in power

He will not break, he will not bend

Not a minute, not an hour

 

Bombs will fall on Lebanon

As long as he is able

Until the last of them is gone

Peace is off the table

 

He will sabotage negotiations

Like a cog in the machine

A total breakdown of relations

There’s war in every scene

 

Get rid of him before too long

And there’s no way back again

The warmongers are much too strong

Their wars will never end

 

 

Profiteers of War

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR

 

Profiteers of War

 

They’re taking money from the Arab states

They’re taking money from the poor

They’ll take it now before it’s too late

They’re the profiteers of war

 

We’re paying more for milk and bread

We’re getting less and paying more

While the working world is feeling dread

They are profiteering war

 

His sons are gathering stacks of gold

His son-in-law takes in more

The nation’s parks are being sold

To the profiteers of war

 

They’ve got business with the Emirates

All the oil barons of lore

They are killers and degenerates

They’re the profiteers of war

 

We will never get it back again

All this waste of our resource

If you trust in God this is a sin

The profiteers of war

 

If you’d like to feel the hate

Get on board and stay the course

A dismal conscience is your fate

You’re a profiteer of war

 

Senator Collins Stands for War

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

 

Maine for War

 

The honorable Senator of Maine *

Raises her hand for war

The Senator has made it plain

Her cowardice runs to the core

 

She’s made an art of equivocation

On every issue under the sun

In the end she knows her station

Her vote belongs to the one

 

It’s never about her conscience

It’s rarely about her pride

It rarely makes any sense

She is always on their side

 

This time she has gone too far

In a vote for the Iran war

She is Maine’s declining star

They won’t stand for her anymore

 

She would send your kids to die

So far away and all alone

She could never tell them why

The voters should send her home

 

* Susan Collins

 

The Opposition Rises

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RESISTANCE

 

Opposition Rises

 

The opposition rises

Like the Phoenix from the ashes

The whole world is in crisis

As the global system crashes

 

We are waiting for a change

Not a surface decoration

For the people are estranged

From this war seeking nation

 

Our money seems to shrink

Every time we drive our cars

How long before we sink?

Just how far is too far?

 

They take away our friends

They’ll shoot us if we resist

On their mercy we depend

We are governed by the fist

 

Now they’ve taken it abroad

This grand brutality of force

Netanyahu playing God

Now we’re fighting Israel’s wars

 

Turn around and make it stop

This war has got to end

We are not the global cop

Let the wounds begin to mend

 

 

Britannia Rising

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Britannia Rising

 

Our most loyal of all friends

Has risen in objection

That friendship is at an end

Until the next election

 

We went to war alone

Netanyahu not withstanding

The crude harshness of our tone

The lack of understanding

 

All of Europe stands apart

They’ve refused to go along

For diplomacy is an art

That our president gets wrong

 

We demand that they close ranks

Though they never had a say

We’d like them to say thanks

For what we did yesterday

 

But this is a brutal war

Netanyahu got it wrong

It is rotten to the core

And Britain will not go along

 

 

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

 

 

The Deadline

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

The Deadline

 

No nation would tempt this fate

The loss of all it has built

Execution of its chief of state

Its wealth in oil spilt

 

Unless its pride is on the line

Surrender is not an option

We’ve placed them in an impossible bind

We don’t know how to stop them

 

How much will be enough?

Will we let the people suffer?

The Iranian people are tough

Just to prove that we are tougher

 

Will we hold them to this deadline

On the threat of mass destruction

Will we cross that humane line

Have we made that crude deduction?

 

We’ve learned nothing from the past

For war is not the answer

How long must this war last

Before we see that it’s the cancer?

 

 

War Crimes

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

War Crimes

 

The Iranians cheered him on

When he delivered the first blow

When the leadership was gone

They all gave the sign for Go!

 

But soon they had their doubts

They’re counting civilian dead

They know now what it’s about

Their hearts are filled with dread

 

He’s pledged to bomb the oil fields

Their bridges and their plants

The gruesome fate of Iran is sealed

Do not tell him that he can’t

 

He’s not afraid of war crimes

He believes that he’s immune

Yet he is running out of time

The payback is coming soon

 

He’ll be entered in the book

Of depraved and lawless leaders

Of mindless killers and crooks

Of shameless bottom feeders

 

 

Kicking the Hornets' Nest

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAN WAR

 

Kicking the Hornets’ Nest

 

When you initiate a war

You ought to know what’s in store

It shouldn’t be just a guess

When you’ve kicked the hornets’ nest

 

The Hormuz Strait is still closed

Iran is shooting down our jets

The sense of failure only grows

For we have kicked the hornets’ nest

 

The whole region is inflamed

The whole world is feeling pressed

We all know who’s to blame

For he has kicked the hornets’ nest

 

Now we are offering a deal

Though it seems it is in jest

These ultimatums are not real

For we have kicked the hornets’ nest

 

Now Iraq is up in arms

What happens next is just a guess

Every move will promise harm

For we have kicked the hornets’ nest

 

Get out now while there’s still time

Get out yesterday is best

As all our enemies fall in line

We have kicked the hornets’ nest

 

The Costs of War

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR

 

The Cost of War

 

We really don’t need healthcare

We don’t need housing anymore

We can use that money elsewhere

We can fund the Iran War

 

We don’t need to feed the homeless

We don’t need shelters from the storms

We don’t need highways in the west

So we can pave the road to war

 

We don’t need public education

We don’t need to help the poor

We don’t need walls or space stations

Let’s fund the Iran War

 

After all it is our mission

We are destined to want more

He has made this bold decision

We must fund the Iran War

 

To hell with all our handouts

To hell with building up our shores

Tell the world to have no doubts

We can fund our dirty wars