Protest in a Time of Pandemic

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Protest in a Time of Pandemic

The masses gather on the streets

Oblivious to the times

Rage surrounded by anger

Calls for justice shouts of indignation

Fear and fury grips the nation

They believe they’ve been granted immunity

By the righteousness of their cause

And the oppression of their community

The masses form a mob and push

A swirling wall of outrage

Chanting slogans waving signs

Demonstrating their despair

All while breathing toxic air

Swarming like disturbed hornets

Throwing elbows resisting calm

Taunting fingers seeking cover

Taking hits and shedding tears

While the cops exploit their fear

The gas swallows them whole

As they rush for shelter and affirm

A pledge of tribal unity

The right to gather in protest

The right to be heard

The right to live free and clear

May one day become

The right to die for your conviction

Some wore masks

Some did not

Some sought distance

Most forgot

Is it fair to ask

How many will die

For this one man’s brutal killing?

Five Days of Fury

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  GEORGE FLOYD SERIES

Five Days of Fury

Four days of civil unrest

Four days of building tension

Four days of subversion

By elements of anarchy

Lawlessness and looting

Incitement and instigation

Who are these insurgents

These promoters of violence

And division?

Anti-fascists or anarchists?

Agents of foreign interests

Hellbent on destruction?

On the fifth day they got their wish

Frustration turned to rage

And rage transformed to chaos

And chaos ruled the night

Like a demon shadow

In deadly flight

Detroit

A city long left behind

Chicago

Divide black and white

Philadelphia

Birth of a nation

Seattle

Youth against the fold

New York

Long suffering racial pain

Boston

A legacy of shame

Atlanta

City of segregation

Los Angeles

Watts never died

(it just faded away)

On the fifth day

The cops dropped their guard

And the battle began

On the fifth day

We held our breath and prayed

Earth's Revenge

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Earth’s Revenge

I’ve always sneered at people

Who assign human emotions

To inanimate things

A planet has no feelings

Its actions have no motive

It is it does that’s all there is

But consider this: 

All systems have defense mechanisms

The human body has antibodies

It employs in the destruction

Of viral enemies

Every society develops herd immunity

Antibodies on a grand scale

A planet is a system too

A contained system of great complexity

A system under constant attack

By the human species

A grand civilization dedicated

To destroying ecosystems

Threatening the health and balance

Of the whole

What if we are the virus?

What if the virus is the antibody?

The earth’s defense against us

Now it begins to make sense

The Fever

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

The Fever

Like a phantom in the depth of night

It creeps up on you

Taps you on the shoulder

Takes a bite

You wonder at the sudden chill

The sweat that crawls over you

Like a swarm of microscopic things

Like the warning you never saw

Before it was past too late

You’ve heard that taste and smell

Are dulled by the viral beast

You sniff the air

Nothing

Sniff the sheet

Fear grips you from the inside

Leaves you paralyzed

Staring like a fool

Into faraway empty skies

You don’t rush to the kitchen

You don’t take the test tonight

What if?  What if?

You wait

You take your time

You think

You prepare your mind

Eyes wide shut

Brain closed tight

Tension builds till morning light

Coffee never tasted so sweet

The Fire

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

The Fire

A flame sparks in the east

Wuhan

And the president said

Not a problem buy some bread

Sparks burst into flames

Seattle

And the president said

Go back to sleep nobody’s dead

Flames erupt into fire

New York

And the president declared

Blame Obama if you’re running scared

Wildfire spread across the land

Detroit Chicago New Orleans

And the president fumed

Not my fault if we’re all doomed

Out of control raging fire

And the president steamed

Wake up wake up! it’s only a dream

Earth Abides

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Earth Abides

The sound of robins singing

In the clear fresh air of spring

Births memories of simpler times

When we were free to breathe

The earth abides

We are but a whisper

Lost in a dream

And I am but a dreamer

Drifting with the breeze

To wolves and coyotes

To the rattlesnake and crow

The days of wonder have arrived

The day the humans stayed home

We were the stewards of this earth

But we failed to hold the line

Now we face the woeful consequence

Of pretending we’re divine

The earth abides

The sun still shines

Life blooms wildlife thrives

As we await the waning tide

Lost Souls

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Lost Souls

Wandering without direction

Faces drawn in thin lines

Gaunt shallow undefined

Echoes of emotion

Hollow

They stand where people used to be

They take our places in line

They walk in our paces

Unseeing eyes

Blind

Who are these lost souls? 

Were they ever alive? 

Did they speak in our voices?

Were we of the same tribe? 

Pray for the lost

Pray we will find

Meaning purpose devotion

Give us back our lives

 

Inward

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Inward

Eyes turn inward

Gaze turns back

Scattered images attack

My inner consciousness

Like a flickering strobe

A kid from Nashville who thanked me

With a Yankees shirt and a wry grin

A ride on the Staten Island Ferry

To the shining statue of hope

A woman on the road in Chicago

Who slipped me a twenty on the sly

A ride from hell in the Shenandoah Valley

A whisper in a crowded auditorium

Eyes turn inward

Gaze turns back

So many fleeting memories

Floating in and out of mind

Is this the fluff and stuff of dreams

Or the darkness gaining hold?

Misinformation Kills

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Misinformation Kills

In normal times telling lies

To promote your cause

Is par for the course

Like clouds in the sky

As easy as pie

In normal times no one cares

A page in the book

A glance not a look

A walk not a ride

We brush it aside

But these are not normal times

The stakes are too high

Someone might die

So say what you will

Misinformation kills

We Will Rise Again

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

After the Fall

We will rise again after the fall

We will strike down the border wall

That protected us from imagined beasts

And find new unity west and east

To face our common foes

United we will make a stand

Man and woman hand in hand

Together we will gather

To shed our common tears

Together we will march

To face our common fears

We will rise again after the fall

We will sing and dance and raise the call

No longer will we cower and hide

We are of the earth and earth abides

Despite our common woes

The Test

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

The Test

How long can we last before the walls

Begin to fold in on us?

How long before our minds wobble

Shake and take flight?

Some can endure this endless state

Of nothing but the same

This existential perpetuity

This flight of the flightless dodo

This song of endless woe

Round and round she goes

Like water down the drain

Like weeks of endless rain

Like enticing the insane

Just to feel alive

We are puppets in a wooden chest

Long forgotten put to rest

Nothing beating in our breasts

Trying hard to do our best

And falling like an empty nest

Failing the final test

How long can we last?

The Fall of Privacy

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

The Fall of Privacy

The pandemic experts agree

For the good of all

(and the wealth of some)

They must follow every movement

All the time everywhere

Your walk to the drugstore

Your time at the fair

The people you encounter

Who breathe the same air

It all makes sense

In a fight for our lives

But our freedoms once taken

May never revive

In a battle for survival

Privacy is the first casualty

The Second Wave

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

The Second Wave

When history is written it will record

We grew too confident

We dropped our guard

We had the virus on the run

Kept our distance stayed at home

Till the sun came shining

And the days looked bright

And we celebrated the close

Of a long goodnight

So when it comes back

To reap sweet revenge

What will we do then? 

Fight back or give in?

We’ll fight of course

And we’ll fight again

That’s who we are

And always have been

We’ll fight and fight and fight

Till at last we win

Contact Tracing

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Contact Tracing

He was a hands on kind of guy

He liked to look you in the eye

Grab you by your shoulder

Take and shake your hand

Always wore a smile

Had a lot of things to say

Too old to change his ways

When the great shadow came

And it seemed like it might stay

He shook hands with his neighbor

Who took it home to his kid

Who spent an hour in the park

Where he played with his friend

Who took it home to his father

Where his Uncle Mac gave him a hug

And passed it to his mother

Who forgot about the virus

When she walked down to the store

Where the clerk had a word

And passed it to her friend

Who helped your grandson patch a tire

Who passed it on to you

How could such a thing happen

When we’ve taken all precautions?

We are only as strong

As our weakest bond

The Highest Price

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

The Highest Price

Hurricanes twisters pandemics depression

An infestation of rats and mice

It’s a hard hard truth and it’s cold as ice

The poor folks pay the highest price

From the Bronx to Philadelphia

Baton Rouge to Atlanta West

Atlantic City to Detroit

Old Seattle to Miami vice

No matter how you toss the dice

The poor folks pay the highest price

From the race riots in ‘65

The great Chicago fire

Falling bridges collapsing towers

So much tragedy so much loss

The poor folks pay the highest cost

The color of wealth is white and yellow

The color of want is black and brown

When hard times hit and knock us down

They hit hardest on the poor side of town

Dying for Democracy (Wisconsin)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Dying for Democracy (Wisconsin)

Determined people stand in line

Six feet apart hours on hours

Wearing masks and gloves

In rain and wind and cold

To cast their votes and

Speak their rightful minds

What price democracy? 

The highest law in the land

The justices supreme decree

Anyone who votes this day

Must gamble with their lives

What do you say?

Do you want to die today?

How much does it mean to you?

One last vote for a dying democracy

One last stand before the end

One last salute to duty

Honor and the American way

South Dakota

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

South Dakota

Centuries ago invading armies threatened

Their existence with poisoned blankets

Smallpox infested gifts of the civilized tribe

The Lakota survived

In the great westward expansion

Blue coats fought native warriors

Outgunned and outnumbered

To a standstill dividing the tribes

Forced them to live on reservations

Sent them to Indian schools where

They cut out your tongues

And buried them in history books

The Lakota survived

They massacred the buffalo

To the edge of extinction

Destroyed the Lakota way of life

In every way they could

The Lakota survived

Now the white man’s government

Threatens the tribes once again

With their determined ignorance

Discarding science and medicine

Condemning all to suffer the ravages

Of a deadly pandemic

The Lakota will survive

But at what cost?

How many lives will be lost

To the white man’s folly?

Bury the Dead

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Bury the Dead

Mass graves in Central Park

Cremated remains in Lake Pontchartrain

A tribute to the heroes the survivors

And the families of the dead

The dead themselves no longer care

Pray they have passed to a better place

Though in truth we know not where

How many died in vain?

How many deaths ordained?

We must all wonder though

Few will voice the words

We let it rest

Leave it for another day

We cry we mourn we pray

But we will not ask

How many died in vain

Until the dead are put away

Until the day after we ask

Where do we bury the dead?

Silence

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Silence

Broadway at midnight in the midst

Of the great pandemic

New Orleans’ French Quarter to Jackson Square

Columbus Avenue in San Francisco

Grant Park Chicago on a Sunday afternoon

There is a silence that bears the weight

Of a planet’s worried souls

There is a sorrow deeper than the depths

Of the human heart

From stadiums in the great cities

To small town bars and restaurants

A silence descends like a curtain on

The darkest night

None dare speak its name

None dare summon its power

Take cover and hide

Quiet do not breathe

We know its name

But we will not speak it aloud

Not now

Not ever