Extreme

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE

Extreme

 

Snowstorms from west to east

Fire across the Texas plains

The gods of weather have a feast

All remedies in vain

 

The weather patterns are extreme

In every state and season

From brutal storms to wildfire

We all know well the reason

 

The planet is not angry

The gods are not upset

But the polar caps are melting

And the wetlands are too wet

 

We’ve tired of explaining

To people who do not care

The era of humans is waning

Can’t say it isn’t fair

 

Of course it could be different

If we change our course real soon

But no one seems inclined

To do what we must do

 

Voting Rights

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Voting Rights

 

When the Court gutted Voting Rights

Back in twenty and thirteen

It was no longer necessary

Said the Chief of the Supremes

Eleven years later we look at the divide

It is plenty clear to see

The Chief Justice lied

 

When you make it hard to vote

For voters with dark skin

You make it even harder

For their candidates to win

 

Alabama, Georgia, Texas

Mississippi, Tennessee

They’ve all embraced the principle

Of racial gerrymandering

 

If that was not enough

To push down turnout in the cities

They made them wait for hours

While they shrugged: Ain’t it a pity?

 

So they got what they wanted

They tipped the balance to their side

It should not come as a surprise

The Court of all courts lied

 

The Silent Protest

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

The Silent Protest

 

In Tehran they pleaded to the people

To cast their votes in the election

But the people shook their heads

Not to vote was their selection

 

When you treat the people poorly

When you trample on their rights

When you silence opposition

They will find a way to fight

 

You took away their right to march

For freedom on the streets

You tortured and abused them

Denied them the right to meet

 

They will make their feelings known

In the only ways they can

Their silence at the voting booth

Is how they choose to make a stand

 

You lost the pretense of support

You’ve lost the younger generation

Step aside and let them lead

A new and better nation

 

The Forgotten Nation

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

The Forgotten Nation

 

Anarchy has taken hold

In a state of constant misery

The criminal gangs have grown bold

Another chapter of tragic history

 

Port-au-Prince is a lawless city

Filled with violence and strife

The absence of order lessens

The value of human life

 

The French had their way with it

The Americans took their chance

Now the Kenyans take their turn

Like a sailor at a dance

 

The island nation will go on

Like it always has before

In a state of anarchy and chaos

Starvation always at their door

 

Is there nothing we can do to help

So many times we have tried

It is hard to watch Haiti’s decline

When so many people have died

End the Occupation

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

End the Occupation

 

On peace in the Middle East

Our democracy may depend

A ceasefire is not enough

The occupation must end

 

We remember how it started

But it no longer really matters

The Palestinians of Gaza

Have been brutalized and battered

 

We demand an end to violence

We demand an end to war

We cannot sustain our silence

We will endure it no more

 

They are forgotten people

Denied hope, denied a home

The wandering tribes of Palestine

Abandoned and alone

 

You have pushed beyond the limits

Of our capacity to defend

You’ve become what you abhor

This occupation must end

 

Texas Wildfire

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE

Texas Wildfire

 

A winter wildfire on the Texas plains

To normal ears it sounds insane

The planet’s climate is inflamed

Clear the path and pray for rain

 

What madness is approaching?

Have we awakened yet?

We only have one planet

This one is all we get

 

Raging winds and pounding rain

We’ve seen it all and will again

The Lone Star state is in the crossfire

Tornadoes floods and hurricanes

 

Brace yourselves it’s getting worse

Seems like it all hits Texas first

The bubble is about to burst

It is the global warming curse

 

Ain’t it time for Texas to wise up?

The dawn has come and gone

Don’t pretend you still don’t know

The side you’re on is wrong

The Last Election

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Last Election

 

Who will you vote for in the last election?

Will you sit this one out?

Are you burdened with doubt?

Are you baffled by a hard selection?

Will you sit and drink a stout?

Don’t you know what it’s about?

Need some time for an inspection?

Listen to the rant and shout

 

Take a while to contemplate

The dire implications

The end of our independent state

The birth of a new nation

Conceived as an autocracy

The death of our democracy

There can be no salvation

 

Get up now and find your voice

Every woman and every man

Vote while you still have a choice

Rise up while you still can

Don't Give Up!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RUSSIA

Don’t Give Up (for Navalny)

 

They gathered in the heart of winter

In the belly of the beast

Knowing they could lose their lives

Knowing they could lose their freedom

Knowing they could lose their jobs …

They gathered to say goodbye

 

The martyr would have approved

In the event of his death he said:

It’s simple. Don’t give up!

It’s simple. Don’t give in.

The monster is afraid of them

Why else would he murder him?

Why else grant his martyrdom?

 

If everything is fine behind the curtain

If everything is under control

If the people are truly satisfied

If the people are content

If the people understand the war

If the people want oppression

If the people do not want their rights

If the people love their leader

Why is he afraid?

 

He is afraid the people love Navalny

He is afraid their love for him is false

He is afraid they see through his lies

He’s afraid they are not happy

He’s afraid of the martyr’s widow

He’s afraid of Navalny’s followers

He’s afraid they will rise

He’s afraid they will not give up

He’s afraid they won’t give in

Worse than Buchanan

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Worse than Buchanan

 

Worse than Buchanan

Worse than Franklin Pierce

His defenders were none

His opposition remained fierce

 

Buchanan, Pierce and Fillmore

Paved the road to Civil War

As colossal failures to the union

You could hardly ask for more

 

Historians know the value

Of a president’s true worth

They chose our number 45

As the nation’s very worst

 

He betrayed our democracy

He failed to build his wall

He divided all Americans

As he fulfilled treason’s call

 

His followers stand by him

Despite his fatal flaws

His ego and his ignorance

His defiance of the law

 

No one could be worse than him

He’s as bad as it gets

Will the nation have him back again?

Who knows? Place your bets

 

Dissatisfied and Angry

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Dissatisfied and Angry

 

If you ask them how they are

And how they expect to be

They’ll tell you that they’re fine

But they’re dissatisfied and angry

 

It doesn’t matter how they feel

It doesn’t matter what they think

The last election was a steal

They don’t like the color pink

 

Joe Biden is just too old

Their man is older too

But their old man is angrier

And angrier will do

 

Don’t tell them they are wrong

Don’t tell them they are fools

They’ll just sing a country song

And they never liked the schools

 

They’re dissatisfied and angry

Like almost all their friends

This time if there’s enough of them

Our democracy may end

 

Teaching True History

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUE HISTORY

Teaching True History

 

In Carolina the Underground Railroad

Was a smuggling operation

In Florida slavery was job training

In Alabama the Civil War was fought

Over economic differences

In Mississippi (goddamn) Strange Fruit

Were Kiwis and Kumquats

In Tennessee the Trail has no Tears

In Oklahoma Tulsa has no ghosts

In Texas the Rangers never killed Mexicans

In North Dakota Wounded Knee was a battle

In California we teach the truth

We didn’t always but we do now

 

If a child does not know where he came

From she will not know where to go

If a child does not know true history

He will not be prepared for the world

If a child is raised on mythology as if

It were the truth that child is condemned

To a future of disappointment

 

You cannot hide the truth forever

You can ban books but you cannot banish reading

You can bend facts but you cannot revise the truth

When you lie to your children over and

Over you guarantee disenchantment

And you will never win their trust

 

Teach your children the truth or

They will grow to resent you

And they will be right

 

Neo Nazis in Nashville

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Neo Nazis in Nashville

 

Nashville is a city of music

A city of diversity

A city that embraces art and artists

A city that opens her arms to

To troubadours and vagabonds

Who want a better life

A city that welcomes the dreamers

And the dream

 

The city of music must hang

Her head in shame

As neo-Nazi white supremacists

Boldly march her streets

With chants of blatant bigotry

With chants of racial prejudice

Jews will not replace us!

Make America white again!

 

Will the city leaders find the courage

To denounce them one and all

Will the public office holders condemn

Them in bold and certain terms

Or will the nation’s patriots be

Forced to take reciprocal action

Boycott Nashville!

Boycott the city of music

Until she recognizes the truth and

Value of her diversity

Yulia Navalnaya

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

Yulia Navalnaya

 

She is the widow of a hero

She is the widow of a martyr

She has sacrificed enough

We can ask of her no more

Yet she steps forward

 

She was his heart and soul

She gave to him her strength

She gave her love unselfishly

Asking little in return

His death should be an end

She is entitled to begin again

Yet she rises

 

She knows the danger

She knows as well as anyone

They killed her husband for speaking out

They’ve killed others for less

They kill journalists and dissidents

They imprison the oppressed

Yet she speaks out

 

We should all possess her courage

But we do not

We should all stand up for justice

But we do not

We should all feel her agony

Her passion and her rage

But we do not

 

If she must stand alone she would

But she will not