Stasis (Hard Times)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Stasis

 

The ability to sleep a hundred years

And awake with all intact

 

When hard and tragic times

Sweep over us like an ancient curse

Leaving mother and child in despair

Spreading gloom like an endless night

Turning brother against brother

Sister against mother

Father against son

Friend against friend

In relentless waves of woe

 

When the well runs dry

And all the money is spent

When there’s nothing but the blues

And you can’t pay the rent

When you go to sleep hungry

And there is no better news

How much longer must we endure

Before entropy ensues

 

We need to take a break

An extended pause in time

Freeze everything in place

No more hunger

No more debt

No more evictions

No more clouds of sorrow

A declaration of stasis

Like a reprieve from fate

Put all our problems on hold

Everything can wait

 

Like Rip Van Winkle

In that old fairy tale

Sleep for a hundred years and

Wake when all is well

 

The Cleansing

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Cleansing

 

The reactionaries won’t like it

They’ll scream like banshees on the run

(let them scream)

But it is time for the cleansing

The great and awful cleansing

 

Cleansing the army the navy

And the national guard

Cleansing the police and the sheriff

Cleansing the secret service

And the FBI

 

There is no place in law enforcement

The military or public service

For racists and white supremacists

For insurrectionists or bigots

 

Let the hate group militias stand alone

Never again should they be allowed

To mount an armed insurgency

Against an elected government

With assistance from the inside

 

Those who serve the nation

Must serve all the nation’s people

In all the nation’s diversity

 

Those who carry arms

In service to the nation

Must live and breathe

The nation’s creed: 

 

That all are created equal

That all are entitled to equal

Protection under the law

 

Those who wear the banner of order

Must honor the principles of democracy

And fundamental human rights

 

Those who wear the badge

Must be sworn to protect and serve

All the people and their elected leaders

 

Let the cleansing begin

 

New Day

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

New Day

 

More than a nation

America is an idea

More than a government

Democracy is the embodiment

Of principles and ideals

 

A raging mob representing all

That is antithesis to America

Broke down the barriers

Pushed through the doors

And came within a whisper

Of capturing or killing

Our elected leaders in congress

But they did not touch America

They did not wound democracy

They did not strike down

The American ideal

 

These indelible truths

Were beyond their reach

Beyond their grasp

Beyond their comprehension

 

They showed their colors

But America was not at risk

For it exists deep within

The heart and soul of Americans

In a place they cannot touch

 

 

Military Lockdown

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Military Lockdown

 

While much of the nation is under siege

At the mercy of a runaway virus

Staying in taking refuge staying away

The nation’s capital is in lockdown

Armed soldiers on every corner

Barricades and razor wire surrounding

The institutions of government

 

The least represented city in America

Transformed into a fortress from without

Or a prison from within

 

The question now goes out to every

Soldier every cop and every citizen:

Which side are you on?

 

Will you honor our democracy?

Will you stand by the law?

When it really matters is your

Patriotism made of straw?

 

There were many reasons to go along

Many reasons to turn away

Many reasons to pretend it’s okay

Now there are no more reasons

You cannot condone treason

Without being a traitor

 

Five persons have given their lives

Five families are in mourning

How many more before you understand

The depth of this depravity?

 

 

Color Blind

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GEORGE FLOYD SERIES

Color Blind

 

To be black or brown in America

Is to be born a person of interest

A perpetual suspect by birthright

 

To wear the blue in America

Is to be beyond question

Beyond suspicion or reproach

Beyond the reach of justice

Beyond the veil of accountability

 

To be black or brown and angry

Is guilt beyond all reason

A verdict preordained

A sentence without mercy

Without doubt or second thought

 

For justice is not color blind

It sees the colors black and brown

And hands a sentence down

It sees the color blue

And presumes the word is true

 

No justice is not balanced

And it is not color blind

For it depends on your skin

The justice you will find

 

Countdown (The Final Daze)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Countdown

 

After four long years of bitter division

Four long years of catastrophic decisions

After four long years of sarcastic derision

We have seen the end of a gloomy vision

And we’re still standing

 

Countdown from the number nine

We appeal to every force divine

 

Countdown from the number eight

We pray the end comes not too late

 

Countdown from the number seven

Let all our prayers be heard in heaven

 

Countdown from the number six

Empty out his bag of tricks

 

Countdown from the number five

May our deliverance at last arrive

 

Countdown from the number four

May we finally close the door

 

Countdown from the number three

A vision of the world to be

 

Countdown from the number two

So many things we must now do

 

Countdown to the number one

Praise and glory it’s finally done

 

Attack of the Mutants

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Attack of the Mutants

 

As the virus spreads at an accelerated pace

They cannot rule out a mutant race

 

It seems so foreign and out of place

As if it came from outer space

 

How very different it would be

If the enemy came from across the sea

 

Would we mobilize every known resource

To defeat this rabid beast?  Of course

 

We are dying at a disturbing rate

Failure to mobilize would seal our fate

 

It is past time to sound the global alarm

We must protect all people from harm

 

We cannot stop to ask what cost

For if we do all is lost

 

Pandemic Rage (Return of the Virus)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

 

Pandemic Rage

 

A shot across the bow

A warning heard both far and wide

While insurgents stormed the capitol

While the people were preoccupied

While impeachment grounds were drafted

The pandemic threat intensified

 

In case you hadn’t noticed

A mutant virus made the rounds

And though it started in Great Britain

It has found American ground

 

If you’re one who thinks you are immune

Beware this virus will take you down

For every move we’ve made is wrong

And what is lost may not be found

 

A nine-eleven every day

Pearl Harbor has been surpassed

If we fail to vaccinate the nation

How much longer will it last?

 

Tyranny & Rebellion

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Tyranny & Rebellion

 

In the wake of a failed insurrection

We must take full account

A coalition of madmen with guns

And the mindless rabble

Assaulted the nation’s capital

And were allowed to breach

They carried the usual slogans

Of reactionary unrest

Confederate and American flags

Don’t tread on me!

Nazi symbolism

Tokens of white supremacy

 

They claimed the right to Freedom!

But their actions spoke of fear

They were afraid of losing hold

They were afraid of losing power

Afraid of losing their weaponry

Afraid of being knocked down

The rungs of wealth and privilege

And they wanted all of us

To feel that same fear

 

In that they succeeded

We were afraid

We are afraid

As well we should be

 

They got one thing right

And everything wrong

They have a right to rebel

Against the chains of tyranny

But they failed to recognize

That the tyrant holding the chains

Was their own

 

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