Hong Kong

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: DEMOCRACY

Hong Kong

 

The people gathered in city squares

To hold their leaders to their word

A government of and by the people

If not a democracy then something like

A movement toward democracy

Acknowledgement of basic rights

They took away the right to gather

Took away the right to speak

Took away the right to protest

Stripped down the right to privacy

Broke down a free media

Rendered the vote all but meaningless

And America stood silent

The leader of the free world

Is absent without leave

 

Peru

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  DEMOCRACY BETRAYED

Peru

 

Emboldened

The fascists take aim and strike

They are the moneyed class

Who can stop them?

Who can tell them what to do?

They own the police

They own the courts

They control the banks

They own the media

The people have nothing

But the streets

 

Up north they have their fascists too

Their leaders refuse to leave office

Their elections have no meaning

They cheat and pack the courts

They lie and scheme

They make up the rules

They take want they want

They have no laws

They have no justice

They have no balance of power

They mock their own principles

 

Why should Peru honor the system?

Why should Bolivia?

Why should anyone?

 

The people have nothing

But the streets

 

I Am America

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR

I Am America

 

I have had my day in the sun

I have known the glory of conquest

I have suffered the heartbreak of loss

I have experienced delusions of grandeur

I have descended the depths of despair

 

I am but a child and yet I am old

I am strong and yet weary

I am wealthy but impoverished

I am hope and I am destruction

I am your dearest friend and harshest enemy

I am the darkest night and brightest day

I am everyone and no one

I am all and nothing

 

I am America

I was once a shining beacon

Become a dying ember

I have fallen but

I will rise again

 

Untethered

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR

Untethered

 

We have wandered so far from the ropes

We no longer know where we started

Where we end is beyond the scope

We are untethered unbound adrift

Floating aimlessly on an open sea

 

We have forgotten why we began

This endless journey to unknown lands

Each day we awaken to a new dream

Reality has strayed from our grasp

We reach for it and it slinks away

We dive for it as it turns to dust

We conjure it in distant memories

 

We have become separate and aloof

While our concrete world escapes

We claim the right to invent the

Planets and the stars that reign over

Our waking lives in day and night

Even our dreams are borrowed

 

We were not born this way

The real world once fed and nurtured us

We grew and prospered in its grace

We suffered in stubborn defiance

 

When and how did we lose touch

How and when did we lose hold

When did life slip from our senses

Who cut the ties that bound us

To this breathing pulsing earth

 

We must find our way home

We must plant our feet on solid ground

We must feel the wind and taste the air

We must learn to love our lives again

We must love our gracious mother

In all her teeming splendor

 

A Promise of Unity

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: 2020 ELECTION

A Promise of Unity

 

The promise of tomorrow begins today

We clear our sleepy heads in wonder

Was it a dream or will it stay

To cast our fears asunder

 

We wait with guarded optimism

As a divided nation lends its ears

To the newly elected president

Who owns the wisdom of his years

 

Those who brought him to the dance

With affection give him cheers

Others concede to give him a chance

To push back our darkest fears

 

A spirit of unity is born again

After four long years in hiding

Those who walked a lonely path

Are pleased to finally be riding

 

The way ahead will not be easy

We all know that much is true

But we are pledged to understand

What it’s like to wear another’s shoes

 

For tomorrow is another day

A chance to write the story new

We are a nation of true believers

Neither red nor green nor blue

The Year of the Virus

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

 

The Year of the Virus

 

The year of the virus comes to a close

As we take account the virus grows

The year was lost to severe denial

As mass misinformation went viral

 

The virus did not disappear

Though we would have had it so

It lingered in the background

Until it was time to show

 

We’ve suffered through the first wave

The second is upon us

The third will come will the power

Of Apollo or Adonis

 

Let us hope we have learned a lesson

So the same mistakes are not repeated

If we take the same misguided approach

The virus will not be defeated

 

The Healing

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Healing

 

The wounds of the nation run deep

The death toll is mounting

People are in mourning

Children are confused

The world has turned over and over

Anger blocks understanding

Discussions stop short

 

The wounds of the nation are gaping

Blood flows like canyon water

Emotions explode like cannon fire

There are not enough bandages

To bind our wounds and

Not enough people who care

 

The wounds of the nation are wanting

Time to stop the bleeding

Time to remember our teachings

Care for others as you care for yourself

 

The wounds of the nation are healing

We remember what connects us

A nation of liberty

A nation of justice and law

A nation dedicated to impossible ideals

A nation that unites in times of crisis

A nation that rises to the challenge

 

We remember our brothers and sisters

We remember the battles we fought

The wars we won and lost

We are good people

And we will find our groove again

 

Let the healing begin

 

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