Let the River Flow

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Let the River Flow

 

Our adversaries are powerful

But they have no human souls

And they wear no human faces

They are heartless corporations

That divide us by wealth and races

So many have taken a beating

On the bridges of violent rage

In the struggle for equality

And the fight for a living wage

We stand in line to take a blow

For deep inside we know

The river of freedom is rising

So let the river flow

 

They beat back civil liberties

Took away our voting rights

Compromised our hopes and dreams

Pushed them from our sight

Four hundred years of oppression

The way of progress runs slow

But we persist because we know

The river of freedom rises

So let the river flow

 

A New Day II

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

A New Day

 

The night was long my vision clouded

Sleep came hard and dreams were shrouded

Shadows danced round jumping flames

The world may never be the same

 

The counting never ended

Morning would not come

The rising of the sun

 

A new day

A new dawn

A new way has begun

 

We dared not ever hope again

Yet hope we did (it felt like sin)

We lingered on a distant past

When all our dreams were tossed and trashed

The morning after crash and burn

It seemed we’d never learn

Those horrid days are done

 

A new day

A new dawn

A new way has begun

 

Humility in victory

A touch of grace in loss

The time has come for decency

No matter who has won

 

A new day

A new dawn

A new way has begun

 

Curse of the Founders

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Curse of the Founders

 

The founders had a clever idea

Embrace the concept of democracy

But toss the reality aside

Let the white and wealthy decide

The executive branch will abide

The electoral college

 

Let slaves be accorded three fifths

Of a human belonging to their masters

Let women and the poor go wanting

Let white men of property decide

The White House and the Senate will abide

Disproportionate representation

 

A few raised objections to no avail

They let the ship of equity sail

The country would be split in war

They could not accomplish any more

The head of state would be elite

A new convention would someday meet

To settle all the problems

Like the filibuster

 

The founders have been praised

With wonder we have all been raised

For all they thought and did so well

They secured our rights and cast a spell

But for all that they left a curse

And one that could hardly be worse

Slavery disenfranchisement

Corporate aristocracy

 

Not all the founders floundered

Some embraced the age of reason

Some risked the cry of treason

Some kept their ideology in sight

They knew the people would have to fight

To gain their civil and human rights

They did the best they could

The rest is up to us

 

Wisdom of the Ages

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Wisdom of the Ages

 

The wisdom of the masters

We strive to understand

Yet we end up in the wasteland

Of Adam Smith and Ayn Rand

 

In our attempt to chart and measure

Every economic force

We yield to a philosophy

That lets them plot their own course

 

In our reach for social justice

Instead of seeking better ways

We take refuge in the saying

Every dog will have its day

 

For we have sacrificed the vision

Of utopians and dreamers

Surrendered to the nightmare

Of conservative redeemers

 

But they do not redeem

As much as they abuse

The needy and unfortunate

The people always lose

 

Survival of the fittest

Is fine for elephants and squid

But it leaves behind the masses

When you take the highest bid

Standing By

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  2020 ELECTION

Standing By

 

The ballots are cast

The counting in process

The polls have all closed

The night is upon us

Our future hangs by a thin red line

White men with weapons are standing by

 

We’ve talked till we’re dizzy

Worked till we dropped

We’ve begged and we’ve pleaded

Oh lord make it stop

We’ve marched in the streets

Called out all the lies

White men with weapons are standing by

 

The president is howling

Like a rabid beast

Don’t count all the votes

In the west or the east

I’ll stay in the White House

Till the day that I die

White men with weapons are standing by

 

Night turns to day

Day turns to night

The people are restless

There’s no end in sight

The president advises

Take it all in good stride

White men with weapons are standing by

Lady of the Flame

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Lady of the Flame

 

The gift of liberty cannot be taken

Without blood and mourning

She holds her head high

She reaches for the heavens

Because she has sacrificed

That and those she holds dear

For whom she now cries

 

The lady of the flame is fearful

She has seen and lost too much

She has watched the blood of patriots

Feed the fuels of tyranny

She has been the subject of a tyrant’s praise

Her proud demeanor compromised

Her dignity and grace besmirched

By hateful hurtful lies

 

She has traveled through the ages

Leading many a march of freedom

Only to be led astray

She will not hide her head in shame

She will rise and rise again

She will light the way

In the end she will win

 

Our beautiful lady of liberty

May her flame never die

She will outlive this travesty

She will endure the great lie

 

The Dream

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: 2020 ELECTION

The Dream

 

Understanding across humanity

Empathy for the poor

An end to hunger and starvation

Poverty no more

 

Equality across the races

Decent homes for everyone

Jobs at living wages

We must work until it’s done

 

No more wars in other nations

To boost the corporate treasure

No more punishing the powerless

To serve our morbid pleasure

 

We will build it from the ground up

A tribute to all that’s good

Not a monument to the past

But to show we understood

 

The dream is not over

It has only just begun

When all the votes are counted

The people will have won

 

London Lockdown

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

 

London Lockdown

 

Britannia played the Trump card

Boris Johnson played the fool

Until the virus came down hard

Closing cafes taverns schools

 

So London is in lockdown

They’ve closed it up again

They’ve learned a hard lesson

There’s no other way to win

 

They tried so long to ignore it

To pretend it wasn’t so

But the virus yields to no one

It chose to grow and grow

 

The time has come to fight back

With all the weapons we possess

Science knowledge medicine

Things that work we can attest

 

Say goodbye to superstition

Say goodbye to faulty news

When it comes to our survival

Wisely we must choose

 

A New Day I

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR 

A New Day

 

It looms ever ahead

Advancing and receding

Like a mirage on a lonesome highway

 

We reach for it

Touch it taste it consume it

And it is gone

Gone

Forever always gone

And we poor souls

Are left lonely and afraid

Longing for yesterday’s dream

 

A new day dawns

Nature erupts in song

Spirits dance on treetops

The small and bountiful belong

 

We are born to new purpose

And we are on the path

We will plead for forgiveness

Make amends for nature’s wrath

 

Every particle is filled

With hope and good will

You can sense it deep within

If you sit long and still

 

It’s a new day

There’s a new way

Rejoice and sing

 

The Finish Line

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  2020 ELECTION

The Finish Line

 

Pushing hard and pushing harder

Harder than any endeavor can demand

Harder than a marble fortress

Harder than a rich man’s heart

Harder than a dull man’s fate

 

A billion minds melding into one

Focused on a singular goal

Stretching pulling lifting driving

All pistons firing beyond capacity

Praying to any and all deities

Tempting the heart of fate

Dancing under moonlight

Summoning the forces

Stirring the mystic potions

Chanting in other worldly voices

Calling forth the spirits

Reaching for the stars

Exhausted beyond all words

Falling to the floor

Picking ourselves back up

To exert ourselves once more…

 

We have reached the finish line

One last thrust and drive

Collapse and release

Our long mission complete

Rest in solemn comfort

Exhale in lasting peace

Knowing we have done

All that we could do

 

The race is over

Breathe in breathe out

And let it go

 

Toxic Politics

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Toxic Politics

 

The pandemic began

In the heart of a man

Who just did not care

About the toxic air

Or anything that did not

Bring him praise 

So began the malaise

 

He preached that money

Is all that mattered

So the people rose

And then they scattered

Like pigeons on the run

We wonder what we’ve done

As we chased the moon

And hid from the sun

 

Some laugh and some pray

That there will come a day

When we conquer our fear

And we hold our friends dear

But for now we are stunned

At the world we are in

We all hope someday soon

We can start it again

 

Spreader in Chief

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Spreader in Chief

 

Incredibly infectious

It travels through the air

But the man at the top

Spreads it on a dare

 

He thinks he’s Superman

And in once sense he’s right

As the spreader-in-chief

His light shines bright

 

No one wants to be a number

To a virus that doesn’t care

If you take due precaution or

Get caught in the president’s lair

 

After a dance in the devil’s den

You’d think he’d change his tune

But he hasn’t learned a thing

He’s as crazy as a loon

 

How can one man be so callous

To willfully ignore the spread

Something inside is rotten

The part that cares is dead

 

A Social Conscience

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS

A Social Conscience

 

Fundamental to life

All beings possess a social conscience

Crows guard collective territory

Wolves howl to warn the pack

Whales sing empathic sorrow

Dolphins swarm to protect the weak

 

When we speak we speak in all voices

When we sing we add to the symphony

Of all humanity throughout time

 

The triumph of one inspires all

The tragedy of one breaks all hearts

 

We are born without greed

We are born without selfishness

We are born to be socially aware

We are born to serve and care

We are born to rise above ourselves

To seek the comfort of our fellow beings

 

Greed is a disease of the soul

Humility is the cure

 

Pity those who are wrapped within themselves

Who cannot see beyond their own reflection

For they are warped and tortured beings

Destined to grief and loneliness

 

The Long Road

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS

The Long Road

 

When the needs of now are pressing

The needs of tomorrow cease

Like coins in a piggy bank

For payments on a lease

 

We cannot see the horizon

For the haze within our eyes

For the fear rising within our hearts

For the poison in our skies

 

The karmic debt is mounting

While we poor souls are still

Counting and recounting

Coins to pay the bill

 

We are stranded by the roadside

In a far off lonely place

On a road that leads to nowhere

Staring blankly into space

 

The way ahead is long and hard

We know it in our bones

But the only choice we have is

To go together or alone

 

For mother earth will take her toll

She will not be ignored

All living things are equal

All people rich and poor

Perspective

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Perspective

 

The world has taken a horrid turn

If there’s anything left

There’s something to learn

We’ve gone our own ways

No thought for our brothers

A tilt of the axis

And we’ll lose all the others

 

We’ve taken a ride

On a suicide train

Can’t stay dry when

You’re nude in the rain

Moving faster and faster

When we should slow down

Crops don’t grow on

Dry cracked ground

 

There’s got to be a better way

Don’t we all know it?

You feel it in your heart

But you’re afraid to show it

 

Take a long look around

Don’t like what you see?

Change your perspective

See what it could be

 

There’s a dozen ways

All better than this

But it will not get better

Without cease and desist

 

Undecided

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Undecided

 

Democracy or despotism

However can we choose?

Incompetence and bigotry

What have we got to lose?

 

We’ve watched this rolling train

Like a virus on the loose

We see what looms ahead

We’re riding in the caboose

 

We can stay on this errant track

If we’re determined to die

Or we can slam on the brakes

Put an end to the great lie

 

We will have to rebuild of course

There’s no way around it

It’s broken and scattered

That’s the way that we found it

 

But don’t tell me it’s hard

To choose between the two

There’s no choice at all

It’s the false and the true

 

What we choose to do now

Sets the future in place

The fate of our children

And the whole human race

Thirteen Days

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Thirteen Days

 

Thirteen days to the thirteenth

Most important election

Of my lifetime

 

I don’t remember who

I voted for back then

I know I never voted Republican

(It’s not in my bones)

I know I never voted for war

(Conscientious objection)

I know I never got the chance

To vote for a Kennedy

(I saw Bobby on the train to LA)

 

I do remember voting for Nader

I remember voting for Leonard Peltier

I remember voting for Hope

Remember Hope?

 

Every time every election

Every four years I was told

It was the most important

Election in my lifetime

 

Vietnam

The Gulf War

Afghanistan and Iraq

Global warming

Global pandemic

American democracy

Voter suppression

Voting rights

Civil rights

Women’s rights

Universal healthcare

The next Great Depression

Fire wind and rain

The fertile earth

 

This time they’re right

This time it’s real

This time all the cards

Are on the table