RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: HOLY WARS
The Curse
Religion can be a blessing
Just as often it’s a curse
Nothing good can happen
When we place religion first
The Muslims hate the Christians
The Christians hate the Jews
When people fight for faith
Both sides will always lose
The Shias hate the Sunnis
The Hindus hate them all
They all claim to be peaceful
Then we’re up against the wall
Too many wars have been fought
Not to know the damage done
When both sides fight for God
Holy wars are never won
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
Separation
The separation of church and state
Is a wall that should not be broken
Of the horrors we might contemplate
This one should be unspoken
The wonders of hypocrisy
They claim to love our nation best
Betray our young democracy
By failing a fundamental test
Religion has no proper place
In the governance of a nation
To human rights a plain disgrace
Like sanctified discrimination
For it has never ever been as clear
As it is on this fair day
The collapse of principle we fear
Has led us far astray
Keep whatever faith you will
It is not for me to say
Honor the creed thou shall not kill
And worship as you may
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
The Irony
A change in the Oval Office promises
To bring a purge of the government
A purge of the FBI
A purge of the people’s house
A purge of the electorate
A purge of American citizenship
Just like the Red Scare of the fifties
The irony is:
This time the Reds will be doing the purge
This time the litmus test requires
An alliance to the Beast of the East
A betrayal of NATO
The abandonment of Ukraine
They call it America first
But it is Russia calling the shots
They call national patriotism
But it is loyalty to an adversary
They call it the voice of the people
But the people fall silent
In shock and awe
What have we done?
How can we make amends?
It is far easier to lose a democracy
Than it is to gain it back
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CATASTROPHES
Taiwan Quake
We have so many manmade tragedies
We forget that nature has her own
The earth will quake, the wind will moan
The sea will rise, we will atone
And they will rouse our sympathies
Though they are far from home
In the shadow of a fearful beast
Taiwan suffers disproportionately
Though they endure it graciously
With modesty and dignity
Their fear looks to the east
Across the China Sea
A quake has hit them hard
They must turn to us for aide
Though their character is staid
Reparations must be made
We must hold them in our regard
Until the terror fades
At times like this we will remember
We are all in this together
Like birds of a certain feather
Through every kind of weather
From the first of January to December
To help is our endeavor
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE
Moral Dilemma
I believe in my bones conscription is wrong
As an army of conscripts is weak
I believe that the cause of Ukraine is strong
But the prospect grows dimmer to bleak
It is a dilemma that cannot be unwound
They are fighting a brutal beast
Yet they stand on shaky moral ground
Which path is offensive the least?
There must be a way to defeat this foe
Without becoming what we detest
The price for aggressive war must grow
In unity from the east to the west
The affront of Russia must never prevail
This evil must be stopped in its tracks
The way of war must be derailed
An end to all imperialist attacks
Until then we live in compromise
Until then these wars will not end
Until this world becomes more wise
Our moral foundations must bend
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
The Greatness of the Don
No one but the Don
Could have proven with such certainty
The abject failure of public education
No one but the Don
The Don and only the Don
Could have demonstrated the failure
Of representative democracy
No one but the Don
A genius in his own mind
Could have proven beyond doubt
The ignorance of the masses
We may point the finger of blame
At a myriad of random factors
A convergence of the planets
An alignment of the stars
The flaws of a two-party system
The folly of the Electoral College
The corruption of the body politick
A spell of mass delusion
Yet the truth remains:
No one but the Don could have
Brought the message home
The choice we now face is whether
To confirm the greatness of the Don
Or return to the greatness of America:
The ideal, the hope, the dream
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS
New Bohemia
Bohemia is not a place in Europe
Bohemia is a state of mind
A place where art and artists reign
Where no endeavor is more valued
Than the creation of a work of art
Where thoughts appear in song
Where dance is in the wind
Where each street is a poem
And every building a sculpture
Bohemia is a place in the heart
Where no one is afraid to speak
And everyone agrees: Freedom is
As necessary as food, air and water
Where the needs of all are tended to
Where the ambitions of politicians
Are set aside like yesterday’s news
Bohemia is a place of growing
Where a child is taught to follow dreams
Where every person has a purpose
Where no dream is too small
Where no vision is too large
Where the struggle burns within
The search for truth and meaning
The fulfillment of the soul
Bohemia is not a place in Europe
It is a state of mind
Where every individual is driven
To be creative and kind
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR
The Warlord of Israel
He is the saboteur of war
Taunting all his foes
Betraying his alliances
Disseminating woe
A constant state of war is
All that this man knows
With every act of cruelty
The bloodshed only grows
Disproportionate retribution
Strikes beyond the border
The warlord of Israel
Brings chaos and disorder
The man will not be satisfied
Until the world’s on fire
A never-ending state of war
His ultimate desire
Take from him his weapons
Swipe away his power
Cast him to the winds of war
And praise his final hour
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR
The Crimes of Netanyahu
The crimes against humanity
Continue without pause
Netanyahu flicks his thumb at us
In defiance of all laws
Another thousand dead
Another week of terror
Netanyahu shrugs his shoulders
As if it was random error
The war continues on
Until his anger is abated
How many more must die
Before his rage is satiated?
We must find another way
And we must find it yesterday
For what Hamas started
Future generations will pay
For now there is no answer
There is only blood and pain
The violence will continue
Like a cruel and endless chain
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
Enemies
Our enemies wear many faces
Some poison our water and air
Some despise the darker races
Nearly all pretend they care
Netanyahu is an enemy of peace
Elon Musk is an enemy of truth
Vladimir Putin is a villainous beast
We’ll decide in the voting booth
There are many who have sold their souls
For some money or a piece of the action
There are many who play lesser roles
Who charade as an angry faction
To defeat our true enemies all
We must recognize who they are
One by one we must see them fall
To lift up our virtuous star
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: EQUALITY
The Way it Was
I remember when there were no gays
High school kids showered together
There was no other way
I remember when the minorities
The blacks and browns and Asians
Lived in their own neighborhoods
Went to the same schools
They weren’t the best neighborhoods
They were broken down houses
And secondhand schools
But as far as we knew
(and as far as we know today)
They liked it that way
I remember when the boys got all the glory
The girls were their cheerleaders
Boys ran for president
Girls were secretaries
Men got bigger paychecks
Women were their servants
Men did the “hard” jobs
Women ran the home
Men did all the talking
Women didn’t have much to say
For all we knew and know
They liked it that way
I remember when it was cool to say
I’m free white and twenty-one
We were the chosen ones
We were the privileged ones
The world revolved around us
And that was okay
As far as we knew and know
We all like it that way
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS
Contrasts
How can we breathe the fresh clean air
When we know what is happening elsewhere?
In Haiti there is no order
In Nicaragua and Mexico
There is no border
How can we send our children to school
To teach and embrace the golden rule?
When schools in Kiev are underground
When there is no school in Gaza
In Yemen the schools left town
How can we enjoy our fresh cooked meals
When elsewhere there is starvation?
When hungry children go to sleep
There is no grain, there is no meat
When what you sow is what you reap
When rescue workers are killed or beat
How can we live in peace when
Around the world there is only war?
We fight for greed and vengeance
When men in power want only more
When more is never ever enough
When the wealthy consume the poor
How can we go on without care
With killing and hardship everywhere
How can we live our happy lives
When so many live in despair?
When we know we are no better than
When we know it is not fair?
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR
The Children of Gaza
The act of genocide
Can no longer be denied
The death and destruction
Cuts deep inside
When will we make an end?
On what does it depend?
A policy of vengeance
We can no longer defend
There are too many dead
Too many without bread
And none of us believe
A word Netanyahu said
We must end our support
Take the murderers to court
Put a stop to the killing
Playing out like a sport
The children are dying
Their mothers are crying
And all we can do
Is to say we are trying
End the war!
End the occupation!
Now!
