The Uprising

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

The Uprising

 

In Moscow and Vladivostok

In St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad

In towns and cities across Russia

The people rise in protest

Against the invasion of Ukraine

And the dictator shows his weakness

By arresting and detaining protesters

By the hundreds and the thousands

As he does with political opponents

As he does with dissidents

As he does with journalists

As he does with anyone who speaks

Truth to power

 

The Great Dictator is afraid of dissent

He is afraid of real journalism

He is afraid of political opposition

He is afraid of free speech

He is afraid the truth will leak out

That his support is as thin as paper

That his leadership depends on fear

 

The Great Dictator is falling

He has made a critical mistake

He learned nothing from Afghanistan

He learned nothing from Iraq

He learned nothing from the Cold War

He believes he is the magician

Who can turn back time

 

He is not a fool

He is ruthless

He is egocentric

And he is wrong

True Patriots

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

True Patriots

 

While you’re deriding Joe Biden

With your childish chants

And inept comparisons

Remember that it was Biden

Who withdrew from a twenty-year war

That Bush the younger started

And two successors failed to stop

We were the invaders then

And we answered the call

We were the occupiers then

And we took to the streets

Several million strong

 

Now you serve as cheerleaders

For the despicable Russian despot

As he bombs and bulldozes

His democratic neighbor

Now as the missiles fly over Kiev

You wonder which side to take

Or whether to take sides at all

 

Look to the streets of Moscow

Where the people rise in protest

Where they risk their lives for others

For the cause of freedom

For the hope of democracy

 

Look to the people of Ukraine

Who hunker down in resistance

To the foreign invaders

 

This is the face of patriotism

These are the hearts and souls

Of true patriots

 

Courage Under Fire

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Courage under Fire

 

“You will see our faces, not our spines.”

-- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

 

The Ukrainian people have pledged

To fight for their freedom

For their homes and their lands

For their independence from tyranny

 

They oppose the mighty army

Of the world’s great oppressor

They oppose the heartless

The monstrous the merciless

Leadership of the Great Dictator

 

They oppose imperialism

The politics of military conquest

The history of colonialism

 

They know they cannot defeat

This enemy on the battlefield

They cannot match the enemy’s

Missiles, tanks, and soldiers

Yet they can win by surviving

They can win by holding on

They can win by fighting back

By folding into the cracks

By exacting a daily cost

To the occupation of their land

 

As a great American* once said:

You can take hold of it

But how long can you hold it?

A decade?

A century?

A millennium?

 

When every day exacts a cost

In blood sweat and treasure

The outcome is most certain

You will lose this war

And you will go down in history

As the bloody evil tyrant

That you are

 

(* Paraphrasing B. Franklin)

Unity

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Unity

 

It takes a strongman

To unite the civilized world

In determined opposition

 

An act of bald aggression

Has achieved what was impossible

Only two short years ago

 

Vladimir the Great

Vladimir the Aggressor

Vladimir the War Criminal

Vladimir the Uniter

 

Vlad says war so step aside

All of Europe from Madrid to Brussels

From Lisbon to Paris

From London to Warsaw

From Ankara to Stockholm

From Budapest to Rome

From Prague to Berlin

Stands in unison to cry out No!

You shall not drive us back

Into the age of perpetual war!

No! you shall not conquer neighbors

Without paying a price!

No! you shall not disturb the world order!

You will withdraw from Ukraine

Or sacrifice your personal fortune!

You will withdraw from Ukraine

Or become the planet’s leading pariah!

You will withdraw from Ukraine

Or watch your people suffer!

 

The Russian people do not deserve this fate

The Ukrainian people deserve it less

Withdraw now and change your ways

 

Peace

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

 

Peace

 

We have placed the boot of a human

foot on the surface of the moon

We have produced human likeness

in breathtaking accuracy

We have spanned the sea

with miracles of engineering

We have delivered the breath of light

to the darkest corners of the earth

We have dammed mighty rivers

and built towers to the stars

We have created masterworks

of literature, technology and art

We have eradicated deadly disease

and saved the buffalo from extinction

We have split the atom and harnessed

the awesome power of the sun

We have protected our wisest voices

and quieted the rage of superstition

We have built governments and

institutions to the stand the ages

yet we cannot stop nations

from destroying one another

in pursuit of power

in the madness of greed

in the desire for fame

 

Until we can exist in mutual respect

Until we can banish war forever

Until we can accomplish a just peace

We have achieved nothing

Mad Ramblings of a Dictator

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Mad Ramblings of a Dictator

 

The madman of the northern empire

Delivers a rambling history lesson

To an indifferent and astonished world

A prelude to invasion

A rationalization for aggression

An ultimatum of war

 

He vilifies Lenin and Gorbachev

The peacemakers of Russian history

He laments the collapse of the empire

The rusting away of the Iron Curtain

The fall of the Berlin wall

He laments the advance of civilization

and pines for the good old days

when the Soviets ruled with an iron fist

 

He believes in his twisted heart

that he is on the side of righteousness

that he is on the side of destiny

that all the world is wrong

and he alone is right

 

His madness is drawn in blood

His dream of a new empire is clear

He is a danger to the world

He is a danger to humanity

He is a danger to the planet

at a time we can least afford it

 

So Long Omicron Blues

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

So Long Omicron Blues

 

It ain’t over til it’s over

Said the leprechaun’s son

The great lady hasn’t sung

So the omicron ain’t done

 

I got the omicron blues

Comes in threes and twos

I got those omicron blues

Ain’t nothing we can do

 

We’ve got to carry on

We all know it’s been too long

We’re just ordinary folks

We were never that strong

 

They said give it a year

So we gave it two more

Pretty soon they’ll be saying

Give it three, give it four

 

I got the omicron blues

It comes in threes and fours

I got those omicron blues

We can’t take it anymore

 

We’re not quitters or losers

We’ll give it one more try

But there will come a time

We’ll go on with our lives

 

One Race, One People

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

One Race, One People

 

We are Americans

WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS

We stand with our own

WE STAND WITH HUMANITY

We are the best and the brightest

WE ARE THE BEST AND THE WORST

The most innovative and creative

THE BRIGHTEST AND THE DULLEST

We lead the world in all endeavors

WE JOIN THE WORLD IN REACHING

FOR THE FARTHEST STARS

We take pride in who we are

WE TAKE PRIDE IN WHO WE ARE

and where we are from

AND WHERE WE ARE FROM

We are the chosen of God

WE ARE THE CHOSEN OF MANY GODS

We are the ones who must choose

WE CHOOSE AND WE ARE CHOSEN

the path of righteousness

THE PATH CHOOSES US

We will rise above

WE WILL PREVAIL

Despite the world’s discord

WITH THE WORLD’S CONSENSUS

We are Americans

WE ARE CITIZENS OF THE WORLD

One people, one nation

ONE PEOPLE, ONE RACE

 

Compassion

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Compassion

 

Let us be judged by our compassion

For the most needful among us

The ones who are out of fashion

Scattered like windblown dust

 

For the homeless and oppressed

For the hopeless and depressed

For the discarded and distressed

For the destitute and depraved

For the hungry and enslaved

For the desperate and enraged

 

If we cannot end homelessness

If we cannot stop abuse

If we cannot cure depression

If we have no more to lose

If we cannot eliminate hunger

If we cannot eradicate rage

Let’s at least possess compassion

As we christen a compassionate age

 

Dance with the Devil

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS (UKRAINE)

Dance with the Devil

 

Once upon a twisted tale

We signed the Missouri Compromise

An agreement destined to fail

Neither virtuous nor wise

 

Now the free world is asked to agree

Which nations shall be enslaved

Which are empowered to be free

While we descend in virtue’s grave

 

It’s a dance with the devil

Down a twisted path

It may soothe for a while

But it will not last

 

We should not have condoned slavery then

We should not consent to enslavement now

Look back with wisdom remember when

A dance with the devil was once endowed

 

It’s a dance with the devil

Down a twisted path

It may soothe for a while

But it will not last

 

The Invasion

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

The Invasion

 

Maybe it began with Crimea

Maybe it was Georgia or Belarus

Whenever it began it begins again

With a strike at the heart of Ukraine

Putin is raising the stakes

He has chosen this time and place

To inflict a great deal of pain

On the proud people of Ukraine

He is challenging international order

Threatening the unity of Europe

Declaring war at a time of pandemic

 

It is time to declare Putin

An international crime boss

A godfather head of state

A pariah among civilized nations

A terrorist of the highest order

A brute a thug a war criminal

 

The price of this invasion

Must be as severe at the violation

Not in blood or loss of life

(though both will be extreme)

For the dictator values neither

But in wealth and prestige

The lifeblood of his immense ego

 

Mundane

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Mundane

 

The everyday things of life

The things we take for granted

A light breeze on a sunny day

A leisurely walk in a garden park

The geese are still here

Seems they never went south

The climate is too moderate

Flowers bloom year round

 

The things that must be done

To keep the machines running

Grocery shopping at the local market

Replacing the worn-out clothes

Keep the body moving

Take time to feed the soul

 

The things we do every day

The things we do every week

The things that occupy our minds

The things that demand doing

To maintain our daily existence

The normal and mundane

Gradually like saving grace

Become our life stories

Define our rightful place

In this wondrous world

 

Triumph and Tragedy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Triumph & Tragedy

 

When one triumphs we all triumph

When one falls we all fall

 

When Jimi Hendrix touched the sky

with his soaring guitar riffs

When Billie Holliday made us cry

as heart and soul ran adrift

When Kerouac channeled On the Road

When Steinbeck gave us old Tom Joad

What Twyla Tharp did for dance

as Pablo Neruda for romance

When a gifted athlete reaches out

and claims a victory over doubt

we feel his awesome pride

we are all on the same side

 

Though they speak for one they gift us all

When they reach the top we stand tall

 

Those who do not understand this truth

will always be alone

In crowds or on their own

Profoundly and perpetually

Alone

 

Killing Journalists (in Mexico)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Killing Journalists

 

They kill journalists in Michoacán

Like they do in Moscow and Hong Kong

Like they do in police states

Like they do in places of corruption

Where criminal gangs and cartels

have more persuasion than government

and more authority than police

They kill journalists where officials

answer to criminals

and sicarios do not fear

 

They kill journalists in war zones

Where human bodies are commodities

Where poverty and drugs cheapen life

Where truth is just an afterthought

Where justice is a nightmare

and only peasants go to jail

 

They kill journalists in towns and cities

Where civilization has declined

And order has been lost

 

Where journalists are insecure

Where they can be killed with impunity

There is little hope for democracy

Little hope for human dignity

Little hope for society

Little hope for law-abiding citizens

Little hope for common folk

like you and me

Stupidity

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Stupidity

 

Stupidity is something you’re born with

Like intelligence or ten toes

It just is like a mountain of granite

It doesn’t fade and it doesn’t grow

 

It’s not something to be proud of

Nor should it give you shame

Thing is if you know you’ve got it

You just might want to restrain

 

From voicing your views out loud

On subjects you know nothing about

A little modesty might be in order

Or some modicum of doubt

 

When it comes to election time

You might swallow your stupid pride

Listen to the ones you trust

And let the smarter ones decide

 

King Sycophant

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POEMICS

Bannon: King Sycophant

 

There is something fundamentally sick

About a self-serving egotist

Submitting himself to the will of

Another self-serving egotist

 

He bows down before the aged one

The one who used to be Donny Diamond

But is now only a bitter old man

Fighting dragons of his own creation

Sending commands form the mountain top

Demanding fidelity at all costs

Bending grown men to their knees

 

The man who would be kingmaker

Is the king of all sycophants

He takes his place among the supine

And from his soiled throne he rants