Family (Thanksgiving)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Family

 

A time to face adversity

Our backs against the wall

We find solace in our family

A place that welcomes all

 

When life has dealt us tragedy

When we feel ourselves in need

We hear the cry of family

A calling we must heed

 

They answer when we need them

And we will do the same

There’s far more that connects us

Than just a family name

 

Our hearts go out to those in need

Who’ve lost their families

While the holidays are a time of joy

How difficult they can be

 

Be grateful for the ones you love

For the happiness that you share

The warmth we often take for granted

The ones for whom we care

 

(Happy Thanksgiving!)

 

Mississippi Vanishing (River Series)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RIVERS SERIES

Mississippi Vanishing (River Series)

 

The great river of a mighty continent

The pounding heartbeat of America

Runs dry before our very eyes

Mississippi vanishing

 

Did we know it would happen like this?

Did we know it would happen so fast?

She was once the mother of rivers

So powerful strong and vast

 

Will we mourn her when she leaves us?

Will it tear our hearts apart?

It was here that Clemens flourished

The Mississippi blessed his start

 

The great river is now dying

Like the land it fuels and feeds

The warming of a planet

Neglect of its vital needs

 

Bitter Days of War

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

Bitter Days of War

 

The cold and bitter days of war

Rain down upon our friends

Their cause is well worth fighting for

On us they must depend

 

Our enemy has challenged us

Can we stay the course?

Through the brutal nights of winter

Through the darkest days of war

 

The missiles are still flying

With winter at the door

Do not forget their suffering

In the bitter days of war

 

They’ve fought so hard and long

Through misery and more

Give them all they want and need

In the bitter days of war

 

Going Down

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Going Down

 

Manchin and Sinema did their best

Holding back the best they could

With every reason from east to west

For not doing what they should

 

But when the election came around

The anti-democracy crowd went down

 

It’s not supposed to be this way

For the party of the working man

The candidates are supposed to say

This is where we make our stand

 

So when the election comes around

The anti-democracy crowd goes down

 

We won this time

We fought them back

We changed some minds

We’re back on track

But have no doubt they will return

The question is: what have we learned?

 

If they rise to fight again

Will democracy always win?

 

The Fall (and Rise) of Kherson

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

The Fall of Kherson

 

The blood of defenders

The roar of the guns

A battle of soldiers

The fall of Kherson

 

The invaders are losing

At every corner and turn

Their will to fight wanes

As the other side burns

 

The dictator calls forth

Another ten thousand

But they are not warriors

Nothing will rouse them

 

The fall of Kherson

Is only the latest

In a contest of wills

Ukraine’s is the greatest

 

So here’s to all leaders

Who start foreign wars

You can’t win a nation

With mercenary whores

 

Enemies of God

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL JUSTICE

Enemies of God

 

Those who proclaim their adversaries

The enemies of God

Are twisted in their righteousness

Their vision warped and odd

 

They kill dissidents in Tehran

They sentence protesters to death

If they could hear the word of God

It would still their very breath

 

For there is no greater crime

Than to kill in your God’s name

God is merciful and kind

Vengeful zealots will face shame

 

I do not know the word of God

I do not pretend to know

But if you use his name to kill

I believe his wrath will show

 

The Fall of Bolsonaro

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

The Silence of Bolsonaro

 

Hold your breath Brazil

The very silence of Bolsonaro

Threatens the heart of your democracy

 

Will the military rise up in arms?

Will his followers raise hell?

Will democracy be overthrown?

Will the president be jailed?

 

The future of the nation

Stands in a delicate balance

If a lawful election is overturned

Brazil becomes a rogue

A pirate of the western world

 

Rise up in support of Lula!

Rise up in support of democracy!

Rise up against the despot

And his conspirators in crime!

Let the dictator know this cannot be

Let the generals know where

The people stand

 

Brazilians have made their choice

The people have rejected the bully

The people have chosen a leader

They demand a voice

Go home and take your guns!

 

Viva Lula!

Viva Brazil!

Liberation

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

Liberation (Kherson)

 

We welcome you our soldiers

We have prayed for this day

At last we are liberated

Now we pray you will stay

 

We have lived in occupation

We have held our heads down

We kept faith that our nation

Would retake this sacred ground

 

The invaders were cold and cruel

They punished us for breathing

Living under a despot’s rule

Not knowing where it’s leading

 

You have come to lift our spirits

You have come to free our souls

When once we were the broken

You have made our spirits whole

 

The Ideal Candidate

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: DEMOCRACY

The Ideal Candidate

 

The ideal candidate for any public office

Believes whole-heartedly in democracy

Free, honest and fair elections

The unencumbered right to vote

Let every vote be counted

The majority decides

 

The ideal candidate knows the people

Feels what the people feel

Lives among the people

Represents the people’s interests

Talks with them and listens

Communicates her policies

Refuses corporate contributions

Answers for his actions

Takes full responsibility

 

The ideal candidate defends human rights

Against all abuses and encroachments

Without regard to race or religion

Gender or gender identity

Social class or economic status

 

The ideal candidate advocates peace

Supporting war only as a last resort

Only if the cause is righteous

For justice and national sovereignty

When all alternatives are exhausted

Without compromise on principle

 

The ideal candidate has her priorities

Consistent with history and the times

An age of global warming

An age of global crises

An age of critical decline

 

The ideal candidate may not exist

But the concept should

And voters should keep the ideal

Always in their minds

 

Political Prisoners (Alaa Abdel Fattah)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL JUSTICE

Political Prisoners (Egypt)

 

Alaa does not eat

Alaa does not drink

He is an activist for democracy

He is protesting his imprisonment

For speaking out against tyranny

Alaa is one of thousands

People jailed for their dissent

Victims of Abdel Fattah El-Sisi

 

Alaa’s family pleads with the west

To support their righteous cause

The cause of human rights

The cause of justice

The cause of democracy

El-Sisi’s Egypt is a totalitarian state

An enemy of enlightenment

 

The cause of human rights

Does not end in Ukraine

That which applies to Russia

Must also apply to others

 

The dissidents of Egypt do not want war

They do not ask for military aid

They ask only for words

They ask only for justice

They ask only for respect

 

Free Alaa Abdel Fattah!

Free Leonard Peltier!

Free Brittney Griner!

Free political prisoners everywhere!

 

The Povertization of Russia

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

The Povertization of Russia

 

The brightest minds of a generation

Are leaving Mother Russia behind

Education, philosophy, art, literature

No longer there will you find

 

The migration of intellect has begun

The povertization of the inquiring mind

The age of Russian excellence is done

The seers have all gone blind

 

A nation cannot thrive

When its people are oppressed

A proud heritage is forgotten

When the greater becomes the less

 

Turn around oh Mother Russia

Before the time is much too late

Lay your weapons to the ground

Recollect what made you great

 

Indian School

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: INDIAN HISTORY

Indian School

 

They kidnapped kids by force of law

Sent them to indoctrination camps

Cut out their native tongues

Severed them from tribe and family

Fed them with spiritual lies

Forbid them from being Indians

Forbid them from being themselves

Taught them that their ways were wrong

That the red road was a path to hell

 

They should have called it genocide

For that is what it was

Genocide of language and culture

Genocide of religion and history

 

When they refused to learn their lessons

They beat and abused them

They called them ungrateful animals

They learned a different lesson

That white people were cruel

That they fear the Indian ways

That if they were to survive

As individuals and as a people

They would have to escape

They would have to remember

Their language and traditions

They would have to return home

To live their lives as Indians

Proud stubborn and free

 

Election Day: Depressing the Vote

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Depressing the Vote

 

There are many ways to depress the vote

A false sense of confidence

Victory is in the bag

The message has been sent

Or turn it upside down

All sense of hope is spent

Either way don’t waste your time

Either way the vote declines

 

Fake soldiers at the polls

With vests and loaded arms

Watching from a distance

Promise to do no harm

 

Misinformation wars

Rumors born of nothing

Rotten to the core

Hear the sirens sing

 

Voting is our duty

Don’t listen to their song

Your voice is all that matters

Not to vote is wrong

 

Propaganda War

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

Propaganda War

 

As the left begins to turn away

From the besieged people of Ukraine

Moving toward the invaders

Joining forces with the fascist right

The secret Putin sympathizers

(not so secret anymore)

Out of a yearning for peace?

Fear of nuclear annihilation?

Mistrust of the powers that be?

I wonder if we are losing the war

And what the cost will be

If we allow the beast to take Ukraine

What stops him from taking Poland?

The Czech Republic, Sweden, Norway?

If Putin knows he need only threaten

The use of nuclear force

To rebuild the Soviet Empire

Where does it end?

 

When the pacifist left unites

With the fascist right

Nothing good can follow

 

Political Violence

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POEMICS

Political Violence

 

When you have no principles

When winning is the only thing

When honor is a character flaw

When fairness is for losers

Violence is a step away

Riots on the street

Fire on the skyline

Assassins on a dare

When people die will you care?

 

When leaders call for action

From an armed and angry mob

When the other side is demonized

Charged with treachery and fraud

When guns are peddled freely

When your cause belongs to God

When your enemy lies bleeding

And people stop to stare

When the blood flows will you care?

 

Hide your head in shame

Hate baiters one and all

When there’s no one else to blame

Line em up against the wall

When the bloodshed comes to you

When your loved ones start to fall

Will you have a thought to share?

When people die will you care?