The Korea Problem

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Korea(s)

 

He chose the north over the south

Dictatorship over democracy

So our alliances are in doubt

From Ukraine to the China Sea

 

Our nation can’t be counted on

It seems we’ve lost our core

Our basic founding values gone

What are we fighting for?

 

He promised no more foolish wars

He promised great prosperity

Now we’re mired on a foreign shore

With a future of austerity

 

Putin, Kim and Bolsonaro

Hungary and Turkey

We’ve turned away from NATO

And threatened our democracy

 

Some betrayals cut too deep

They cannot be forgiven

We’re afraid to go to sleep

For fear our world may end

 

The Purge

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: DEMOCRACY

 

The Purge

 

Florida pioneered purging the voter rolls

Without it Bush* would have lost

From there the question only grows

This topsy turvy world was tossed

 

They found a way to cull the vote

Using names from a felons list

That they were minorities is of note

If they were white they would have missed

 

The history of the world was altered

By that historic election fact

Our democratic system faltered

We haven’t found our way back

 

There are many ways to beat the system

Our democracy is endangered

There are times when we missed them

The threats could not be plainer

 

When it comes to cheating let’s be clear

It’s nearly always the GOP

With the next election drawing near

We can’t afford to let it be

 

All people should be united

In our belief in democracy

Do not let it be decided

By those smelling of hypocrisy

 

* George W. Bush

 

The Cockroach Uprising (India)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: INDIA

 

The Cockroach Uprising

 

Narendra Modi is in panic

The young are on the rise

The waves becoming manic

That once were buried in his lies

 

The cockroach is omnipresent

Its trail leads everywhere

Its survival is magnificent

Its control extremely rare

 

The strongman is in decline

The young people do not care

The voting public is blind

And the elections are not fair

 

The game is tilted to the strong

The rich have failed the test

All their strategies are wrong

Some are more and some are less

 

There’s a change of generations

The old are coming to an end

The young are building a new nation

The old must find a way to bend

 

There’s a new world on the rise

The ways of old are in decline

Let the old world shuffle by

Let the new world open wide

 

 

Abelardo De La Espriella (Columbia)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LATIN AMERICA

 

Abelardo De La Espriella

 

Columbia walks the tight rope

Now that they’ve made their choice

They are sliding down that slippery slope

Though they may think they will rejoice

 

A mega-prison landscape looms

Along with fracking and massive drilling

They are hoping their economy booms

Yet the outcome may be chilling

 

They follow the path of El Salvador

Though they claim it is not so

If it is their democracy is no more

The oppression will only grow

 

He holds the promise of prosperity

But his prisons will be full

As he pivots to a world of austerity

His promises will grow dull

 

We hope they’ll get another chance

In a free and fair election

As they recognize De La Espriella’s stance

They will make a wiser selection

 

We understand their discontent

But this is not the way

They would like an end to violence

But this path only leads astray

 

(De La Espriella elected President) 

 

 

The People's Voice (Columbia)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LATIN AMERICA

 

The People’s Voice (Columbia)

 

Columbians will face a choice

It is not a simple left or right

The vote will speak the people’s voice

We must hope they see the light

 

Ivan Cepeda is the people’s man

He believes in social justice

With the government he’ll make a stand

They know exactly who he is

 

De La Espriella is the outsider

He claims no corporate sponsors

His appeal could not be wider

He is not your simple lawyer

 

Both believe in better healthcare

Schools and housing for the poor

Both claim their cause is true and fair

But De La Espriella favors war

 

A war on armed resistance groups

And prisons for the masses

Despite his vows of greater truth

He’ll forget the lower classes

 

 

Cuba Waits

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LATIN AMERICA

 

Cuba Waits

 

The threat hangs in the air

The example of Caracas

It could happen anywhere

When there is no mutual trust

 

Now they wait in great fear

The beast looms like a terror

It comes nearer and nearer

They can hear the beast roar

 

They are not the dark knight

They do not attack others

They do not seek a fight

They would like to be brothers

 

They are different from us

They’re a socialist nation

They all ride the same bus

They all use the same station

 

They are not a democracy

That is a great shame

They are in essence an autocracy

And for that there is blame

 

Yet they work for their own

For the progress of all

They do not walk alone

And they don’t need a wall

 

Another war of choice

In our own backyard

Would silence their voice

It would go down hard

 

Around the World

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  THE RESISTANCE

 

Around the World

 

We’re pulling troops from Germany

We’ve putting them in Poland

Berlin becomes our frenemy

Greenland becomes our No Land

 

Putin follows Trump to Beijing

They’re losing their respective wars

Britain travels on our wing

We still don’t know what for

 

The King addressed our Commons House

He set our leaders straight

The opposition party was aroused

You can’t lead this world with hate

 

Our president goes back on attack

Now he wants two billion bucks

Republicans at last push back

This time he’s out of luck

 

The ever-shifting goals of war

Are looking worse and worse

We’d like it like it was before

We’ve heard the people curse

 

The Pope is speaking out for peace

Our president is incensed

He wouldn’t give the Pope a feast

His patience has been spent

 

The world is standing up as one

For peace and human rights

This reign of horrors must be done

It’s time to stand and fight

 

 

Demolition Man (Modi)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Demolition Man *

 

The demolition man

Is doing all he can

To reach the unreachable

To touch the untouchables

To send them all away

Where they’ll go he can’t say

Anywhere but here

He’ll drive them out with fear

He will not let them stand

He’s the demolition man

 

He has made his decision

They do not share his religion

They stand out in opposition

He offers nothing but derision

He destroys where they live

They have nothing left to give

They are not worth freeing

They’re less than human beings

Send them off to Pakistan

He’s the demolition man

 

He is racist to the core

He’s not afraid of civil war

But the people are afraid

Of the evil plans he’s made

They see him and his friends

Pushing hard until they bend

This is not how it should be

At last the truth they see

They will stop him if they can

He’s the demolition man

 

* Narendra Modi of India

 (Published on Dissident Voice 24 May 2026.) 

 

Starmer V. Farage

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: BRITAIN

 

Starmer V. Farage

 

Farage won this round

But the battle is not done

The European side is down

But the war has not been won

 

Starmer will hold steady

In a parliament of many

The old guard is not ready

To change the euro for the penny

 

Two opposing parties is insufficient

To express the people’s will

The entire system is deficient

Like a mountain for a hill

 

The young will push ahead

The old will fade away

A reunion will be bred

They’ll regret the day they strayed

 

The party leader may be new

Yet the cause remains the same

Britain yearns for Europe too

In something more than just a name

 

A New Britain

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: BRITAIN

 

A New Britain

 

The duopoly is breaking down

Great Britain will survive

Other parties have staked their ground

A multiparty system will thrive

 

Reform is the biggest winner

The Labour party is the loser

They’ve defeated all the sinners

And made Starmer out a boozer

 

Their democracy will endure

Though it may take a different form

Parliamentary to be sure

Without the two-party scorn

 

It’s hard times for those in power

With inflation and the rest

If you are in the ivory tower

You did not pass the test

 

Will the change be everlasting?

No one really knows for sure

The system may have need blasting

As a farmer needs fresh manure

 

Defending Democracy (Again)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: DEMOCRACY

 

Defending Democracy (Again)

 

Now is the time to marshal defense

Of our democratic institutions

Our waiting time is nearly spent

We have offered our solutions

 

Our enemies are on the offense

Their attacks are neverending

We all know what is meant

By the money that they’re spending

 

We feel it at the ballot box

They want your papers please

The basic right to vote is blocked

Registration rolls are seized

 

Soldiers at the voting sites

Insurrectionists in the fold

A bold denial of our rights

The excuses have grown old

 

If we’d like to stop the steal

We must rally to the cause

These attacks are very real

We can’t depend on the law

 

They will take it if they can

Give an inch, they’ll take a mile

If we fail to make a stand

They will take it with a smile

 

 

Canada Stands Strong

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Canada Rises

 

Carney* secured his leadership

With a resounding Liberal victory

He tightened his party’s grip

And secured his people’s loyalty

 

He has led his sovereign nation

In the spirit of independence

They’ve rejected subjugation

Along with our president

 

The Canadians have learned

That if they try to play his games

Their people will get burned

To our own eternal shame

 

Our alliance remains on hold

For as long as he’s in power

Our relationship grows cold

In this most critical of hours

 

Here here! to your fair nation

For upholding your convictions

We give you our appreciation

For standing strong in opposition

 

* PM Mark Carney

 

 

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

 

 

The Hope of Hungary

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  GLOBAL POLITICS

 

The Hope of Hungary

 

The struggle to dethrone Orban

Is a struggle for us all

For Budapest it’s a new dawn

If the people answer the call

 

Orban controls the airwaves

He has the police in his hands

He has his propaganda slaves

Who march at his command

 

And yet the opposition grows

Behind Peter Magyar’s quest

For each and every Hungarian knows

It could be their last test

 

Once dictatorship takes hold

It is hard to strike it down

The opposition must be bold

They must stand on solid ground

 

Orban will fight until the end

The truth must fight him back again

Vladimir Putin will depend

On the operatives he has sent

 

Stand and let your strength be known

Let the government hear your cry

Stand and know you’re not alone

This time you will rise