Empowering the Beast

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

Empowering the Beast

 

They all bowed down

When he handed out favors

From the mindless rabble

To our elected leaders

 

The blind followed the blind

The faithful followed the faithless

A self-sustaining movement

Among sheep it was contagious

 

They lauded him with praise

Regaled him with promises

Lifted up his word and image

Empowered him with rage

 

He caged children and they cheered him

Built a wall and they revered him

When he praised a despot they looked away

He pardoned thugs and criminals

Shook down foreign heads of state

Surrendered to a deadly plague

They shrugged with nothing to say

 

He incited a mob attack

To demonstrated his strength

Break down the walls of congress

Break through their iron gates

 

He filled their hearts with terror

They cowered and peeled away

Incredulous and dumb

They disown the monster they created

The beast they prodded on

 

Father forgive us they plead

We know not what we’ve done

We empowered this brutal tyrant

We thought he was the chosen one

 

American Democracy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

American Democracy

 

Our democracy is damaged

Wounded to the core

The myth of our republic

Can comfort us no more

 

Masters of disenfranchisement

Sedition by subtraction

Win by all means necessary

Subterfuge and distraction

 

Designer districts are in fashion

Multiply the votes of whites

Dominate the federal courts

Repeal all voting rights

 

Support the electoral college

Despite its fallacies and flaws

The elite must always rule

Protected by our laws

 

It all goes back to slavery

Reconstruction and Jim Crow

While we have made some progress

The process is far too slow

 

Give everyone the right to vote

Let each vote count the same

Let’s insure that our democracy

Is more than just a name

 

The Autocrat Insurrection

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

The Autocrat Insurrection

 

Never in the history of the world

Have the people rose up

In support of autocracy

 

Never have ordinary people

Offered up their lives

To empower dictatorship

 

But here they gather

On the steps of the capitol building

In the halls of congress

In the offices of elected leaders

On the throne of the senate

At the desks of the people’s house

Dismantling our democracy

Brick by brick

 

Shame and infamy

That so many people

Could be so fooled

By one maniacal man

 

(autocracy = one man rule)

 

The Breach (Storming of the Bastille)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Breach

 

As the founders gathered in Philadelphia

To reconstitute the nation

The people of Paris stormed the Bastille

An armory a fortress and a prison

Where dissidents were locked away

Where the power of the crown

To oppress the will of the people

Was enshrined in iron and stone

 

The storming of the Bastille

Christened the French Revolution

An upheaval that ushered in

The Reign of Terror

A purge of the aristocracy

Of priests and privilege

Retribution by guillotine

 

This is not the storming of the Bastille

Though it carries bloody consequence

This is the rabble of a lawless leader

Incited to violent uprising

This is the result of electing an autocrat

A ruthless vicious wannabe king

Who can never accept failure

This is a shameful display of the people

Attacking their own institutions

Of self government

 

This is not the storming of the Bastille

It is a breach of the republic

And the disgrace of a nation

 

Accused!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  POETRY OF POLITICS

Accused!

 

Mr. President: You stand accused!

 

Of summoning the power of state

To overrule the will of the people

And overturn a free and fair election

 

You stand accused!

 

Of undermining our democracy

With every breath you take

With every false declaration

With every truth you forsake

 

You stand accused!

 

Of enticing military officers

Gutless leaders and public officials

To undertake a graceless coup

A betrayal of epic proportions

In plain broad view

 

You stand accused!

 

Of disgracing the office you hold

The empire you once led

And the party you still lead

You’ve bled it till it’s dead

 

You stand accused!

 

Of inciting militia and gun owners

To violence on the streets

A rebel force to rise

To take and give their lives

So that you may gather riches

In schemes that you’ve devised

 

You stand accused!

 

Of abandoning all reason

Of betraying all principle

Of shaming the heart of shame

And tainting your family name

Now until the end of time

You’ve only yourself to blame

 

You sir stand accused!

 

How do you plead?

Guilty! Guilty!

And guilty again! 

 

(regards to Emile Zola)

 

The Greater Good

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Greater Good

 

The purpose of government is

To serve the greater good

Not to protect the wealth of the wealthy

Not to erect barriers of obstruction

Not to deliver daily platitudes

Not to promote the power of party

Not to deny the will of the people

 

The purpose of government is

To help the people in time of need

To answer the call of crises

To provide food to the hungry

To care for the sick and injured

To fight our common enemies

To protect us all from harm

 

The purpose of government is

To serve the greater good

 

Learning to Laugh Again

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

 

Learning to Laugh Again

 

A deadly barrage

A relentless wave

Sorrow upon sorrow

Blue upon blues

A shotgun blast

A plague of locusts

A scourge of misfortune

A midnight triple bill of horror

 

The little tramp walks into a bar

Tips his hat and stumbles

Head over heels

Heels over head

And back again

He retrieves his hat

Straightens his lapel

And plops himself down

As if nothing happened

 

Learning to laugh again

Begins with a smile

 

Starting Over

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR

Starting Over

 

The caterpillar becomes the butterfly

The seed becomes the exquisite rose

The mewling infant becomes the artist

The stumbling fawn becomes the doe

 

Everything in nature begins again

 

The bud blossoms into full glory

The vast sand land springs to vivid life

The deadly storm yields to calm waters

The raging sun becomes the night

 

Everything in nature is reborn

 

The lowly pauper becomes the prince

The wicked sinner becomes a saint

The simple maiden becomes a princess

What is in spades becomes what ain’t

 

Everyone deserves a new beginning

Everything must be reborn

As everything in nature is becoming

So everyone in life can be transformed

 

(regards to John Lennon)

 

The Year of Two Twenties

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  CORONAVIRUS SERIES

 

The Year of Two Twenties

 

A year of bitter fruit and bitter harvest

A harsh and twisted sister

A harbinger of darkness

 

She came too soon and never left

Leaving souls lost and hearts bereft

 

A year of malady and discontent

Of clouds that would not lift

Of rain that punished without end

Never breathing never cleansed

Fire drought and pestilence

Our energy is spent

 

A year of social uprising

We wonder will it be the moment?

We wonder was it worth the price?

The gatherings so many lives

Deepening the great divide

Compelling us to choose sides

 

The year of twenties ends with hope

A little longer we must cope

Wearing masks and keeping distance

Washing hands with soap

 

Born in innocence it ends in infamy

Like Shakespeare’s Gloucester: 

There is no creature loves me

And if I die no soul shall pity me

 

Goodbye year of twenties

May we never meet again

You demanded our attention

But it’s time for you to end

 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

The Shadow of Christmas

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

The Shadow of Christmas

 

The shadow of Christmas has fallen

On a tired and weary nation

The virus has metastasized

Like a deadly invocation

 

The holidays raised our spirits

And stimulated our senses

But in its wake it’s sad to say

It weakened our defenses

 

So now we face the consequence

Of Christmas cheer and sharing

We watch the virus soar and spread

And fear we’ll lose our bearing

 

The question we must ask ourselves:

Was it worth the cost?

So much pain and suffering

So many lives we’ve lost

 

Vengeance (Seed of Evil)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR

Vengeance

 

Vengeance is the seed of evil deeds

Even more so than hate or greed

To seek vengeance is to forego grief

So that sorrow vengeance feeds

 

We all suffer loss and heartbreak

We feel that vengeful yearning

But our wiser selves will overcome

To understand our need for learning

 

For vengeance feeds more vengeance

And violence is answered in kind

Until the whole world is set ablaze

And virtues fall behind

 

Far better to let our anger go

To let it run its course

Than to get entangled in a maze

And mired in remorse

 

We place our faith in knowing

That justice will find a way

The guilty will be punished

That dog will have its day

 

 

The China Problem

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

The China Problem

 

The world is safer when we are friends

But that on human rights depends

You cannot crush freedom of speech

Yet privileged status in trade beseech

 

When you imprison honored journalists

Your government is disgraced

To all leaders that engage such acts

Stern consequence must be faced

 

For all nations must uphold

The basic tenets of civilization

Those who fail so blatantly

Should face free trade revocation

 

We demand justice for Zhang Zhan

We demand she be set free

For the greater good of all nations

For the advancement of humanity

 

(Zhang Zhan sentenced to four years

in prison for reporting on the virus.)

 

Music City (Christmas in Nashville)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CHRISTMAS

Music City

 

I remember Christmas in Nashville

A city bursting with excitement

Where every person you met

Was a singer or a song

Where country paid the rent

But every kind of muse was alive

 

I remember the poetry scene

(down on Second Street as I recall)

Dancing to a hard rock beat

Paying tribute to the bards of old

And the beats of San Francisco

Infused with jazz rock and folk

A town that welcomed all to its fold

 

I remember Nashville in the round

A city of dreams and dreamers

Characters in search of a story

Singers in search of a song

Poets in search of rhyme

 

Nashville at Christmas time

When everyone put their dreams aside

And embraced the spirit of being

A spirit of sharing and giving

A spirit of friendship and trust

 

To see it all come crashing down

At the hands of some random madman

Is almost beyond forgiving

 

(an early morning explosion stuns

Nashville on Christmas 2020)

Mutation

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Mutation

 

Just when we thought

It would come to an end

Here comes a mutation

And the message it sends

 

Lock down your business

Get back in you homes

Two Horsemen are riding

Begin a new tome

 

Will there come three?

Will there come four?

The people are frightened

Scared to the core

 

Is there no mercy?

No help from above?

Have we run out of chances?

Is there no love?

 

Song of Solstice (Winter is Here)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR

Song of Solstice (Winter is Here)

 

The days become short and the nights so long

Our hearts are ringing with the sound of song

A northern chill has invaded the air

A winter darkness sweeps us in its lair

 

We have no true longing to venture out

Deep winter shadows fill our minds with doubt

Frost covers the ground and the air grows still

The marrow of bones senses winter’s chill

 

The season of death descends upon all

The heavens in mourning after the fall

We burrow ourselves inside our warm homes

And give thanks to all we are not alone

 

We endure this winter of discontent

And contemplate where our adventures went

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Joy of Christmas

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Joy

 

Let all hardship and worry go

Today is a day of joy

It is a time of winter wonder

For children and their toys

 

Let go the lingering discontent

Let go the tears of rage

Forgive betrayal and transgression

On vengeance turn the page

 

Tonight there is no sorrow

There is no fear or dread

There is only cheer and happiness

As we lay our heads to rest

 

Tomorrow we awaken

To a world of many wonders

A world where joy and faith

Cast misery asunder

 

Hunger in America

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

 

Hunger in America

 

Hunger in America has always been

Denial is the American way

Food insecurity is a euphemism

Like eccentricity for madness

It does not describe the truth

The way a stomach tightens

In the throes of hunger

It does not describe

How the mind fogs over

And all thought centers on food

It does not describe

The shame of mothers and fathers

When a child goes hungry at night

 

Hunger is like a drug addiction

It gnaws at your humanity

It drags you to the gutter

It makes you plead

Like a common beggar

It transforms you into someone

You no longer know

 

So don’t belittle it with euphemism

Its name is hunger

It is one step short of starvation

It is a time of desperate yearning

 

(an estimated 35 to 50 million Americans

will experience hunger during the pandemic)