Marching Backwards

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POEMICS

Marching Backwards

 

Marching backwards into history

Marching to reclaim lost rights

Marching to reverse reconstruction

Marching for a woman’s right to choose

Marching for a black man’s right to vote

Marching for a safe and civil society

Marching for freedom of speech

Marching for a free press

Marching to end homelessness

Marching to feed the poor

Marching for the right to organize

Marching for equal pay

Marching to end slave labor

Marching for migrant rights

Marching to stop mass murder

Marching to end the war

 

We have marched this march before

So many years, so many times

So often that our feet are sore

We marched to push progress forward

But it seems progress is a revolving door

Two steps back, one step fore

We cannot but ask what is it for?

Each time you ask we give you more

The time has come to measure gains

Instead we’re marching back again

 

War Zone

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POEMICS

 

War Zone

 

A nation that watches dozens

Of its people killed by gunfire

Doesn’t need to go to war

We live in a war zone

We are in perpetual war

We alone in this world

Allow such brutal carnage

We alone do nothing to stop it

 

Are we more impassioned than

The people of other nations?

Witness the Paris uprisings

Witness the protests of London

Witness the riots of Berlin

 

Are we more violent than other nations?

Witness the Spanish Inquisition

The War of the Roses

The rise of the Third Reich

The revolutions of Latin America

 

No and no again

We are no different than others

But we have one thing

Other nations do not have

The second amendment

Unfettered access to guns

And weapons of war

Period

 

Pointing Fingers (January 6)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: INSURRECTION

Pointing Fingers

 

Fingers were made to point

(and grab and hold by the neck)

Those who attacked the capitol

Did a whole lot of finger pointing

They pointed at the vice president

Who refused to do Trump’s bidding

They pointed at the cops

For standing in their way

They pointed at all of congress

For upholding their solemn oath

They pointed at the Democrats

For being Democrats

They pointed at Republicans

For not being Trump enough

They pointed at the media

For bending their twisted truths

They pointed at Antifa

For not joining their ranks

They pointed at every human

Within the range of their rage

They pointed at everyone

Except the one who told them

It was their patriotic duty

To march on the capitol

To stop the proceedings

By any and all means

At any and all costs

The one who said

I’ll be there with you

But he wasn’t there

He sat in the White House

Watching it all go down

In vivid color on television

The one who never asked

(or never cared to ask)

What if they do kill

Nancy Pelosi and Ocasio-Cortez?

What if they do hang Mike Pence?

The one who sat and watched

And never cared enough

To lift his little finger

 

D Day

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD HISTORY

D Day

 

On this day so long ago

We united nations against a foe

So ghastly and deadly great

It put in question the world’s fate

With Russia’s help we turned the tide

And sent the Nazis for a ride

Straight to hell

 

We reached for greatness then

And the world with us

If only we had stayed the course

If only we had stayed true

To our mission as a beacon

Of justice and liberty

To all of humanity

 

We were that nation once

A nation all people looked up to

A nation that kept its promise

That promoted democracy

That stood for human rights

Above strategic gain

Above resources and wealth

Above all else

 

We can be that nation again

Let every day be D Day

Let it begin with Ukraine

Let it begin with a world united

Against oppression and brutality

 

Missiles over Moscow

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

Missiles over Moscow

 

He pretends not to care

He pretends it does not matter

He can do as he pleases

He’s as mad as the hatter

Russia fires missiles at Kiev

As if there are no consequences

(like North Korea firing missiles

Into the Sea of Japan)

One must wonder why and how

The madman would respond

To missiles over Moscow

 

He threatens the western world

With consequences most severe

A blow that would affect the DOW

If missiles were delivered here

But promises have been made

And soon it will be now

One wonders what would follow

Missiles over Moscow

 

We must hope it does not happen

A world at war would be at stake

Devastation would engulf us all

Gods of mercy would forsake

But we would know who is to blame

The madman in his bunker

And we shall curse his name

Missiles over Moscow

Mr. Putin take a bow

 

Exclusion

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Exclusion

 

We excluded three sovereign nations

(Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua)

From the Summit of the Americas

As if we were the only ones that count

As if we are the sole salvation

Now Mexico refuses to attend

To protest this deviation

From common diplomatic protocol

The politics of deprivation

The policies of the Cold War

A foolish innovation

 

The law of exclusion is never wise

If you wish to inspire change

To alter the system you must devise

A strategy to rearrange

The dynamics of relations

 

The Pendulum Swings

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

The Pendulum Swings

 

Yesterday was clear today is dull

The empty cup will soon be full

The balance of nature is a precious thing

Inevitably the pendulum swings

 

Bad luck is balanced with the good

Good fortune is tempered with the bad

One day you’re teeming with happiness

The next day you’re woefully sad

 

The deities have no favorites

It’s the same for all sentient beings

This year you’re on top of the world

Next year the pendulum swings

 

So have pity for those who are down

Understand that it might have been you

For in this life you’re walking in fashion

In the last there were holes in your shoes

 

It’s a matter of random chance

Rejoice when the angels sing

For as certain as lovers in France

We will see the pendulum swing

 

Kokesh Wantanabe

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Kokesh Wantanabe

 

There is no murder in Kokesh

A man is found on the streets

A sword implanted in his torso

The tip of his little finger severed

Dead but not murdered

There is no murder in Wantanabe

 

A man is burned like charcoal

His family is threatened

He is indebted to the mob

He leaves behind no note

His shame vanishes

His reputation is restored

Wantanabe justice

There is no crime in Wantanabe

 

There is no rape in Kokesh

A woman is found in an alley

Her clothing torn

Her undergarment ripped

from her body

She has nothing to report

There is no rape in Wantanabe

 

In Kokesh Wantanabe

Nothing is as it appears

There is no murder because

There are no murderers

There is no crime because

There are no criminals

There is no rape because

There are no rapists

 

In Kokesh Wantanabe

The people are happy and free

Who are these people

If not you and me?

100 Days of War

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

100 Days of War

 

A constant reign of terror

Missiles bombs and bullets fly

Buildings leveled to the floor

People scattered in all directions

Hospitals and neighborhoods

Battered murdered and destroyed

Cries of horror everywhere

Soldiers at the door

100 days of war

 

Ukraine has stood its ground

Her soldiers proud and strong

Against the Russian hordes

Whose cause is weak and wrong

Merciless and brutal

It is evil to the core

Sworn to honor’s code

100 days of war

 

How long can this go on?

How long can they survive?

What are they fighting for?

They are fighting for their lives

For their people to be free

For their rights to be restored

100 days of war

 

Fear and Outrage

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: MASS SHOOTINGS

Fear and Outrage

 

Don’t worry mama said

It will subside

What you’re feeling now

That feeling deep inside

It seems it’s there to stay

As if the pain and sorrow

Will never go away

 

Go to sleep now mama said

Dream of happy days

Daffodils and cotton candy

Dance and run and play

That feeling that you’re feeling

Be strong be true be brave

It will not last forever

In the morning it will fade

 

Morning came and mama said

Darling child dry your eyes

Tomorrow will be better

I promise do not cry

But tomorrow came and went

And mama said with a sigh

Some sorrow never leaves

I don’t know why

 

The Damned of Donbas

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

The Damned of Donbas

 

Remember the Trail of Tears

Remember the forced removal

Of the Cherokee from their native lands

Remember the long march from Tennessee

To the unwanted lands of Oklahoma

Remember the cries of white folks

As they stood along the path

And gave the trail its name

It would be a hundred years before

We called it what it was: genocide

 

History is repeated time and time again

A people uprooted from their native lands

Are severed from their ways of life

Broke and scattered they must rebuild

Their lives from the ground up

 

It has happened many times since

It is happening again in Ukraine

The people of the Donbas region

Are uprooted and scattered in a thousand

Different directions from Mongolia

To an obscure island in the Pacific

 

Those who profess love of Russia

May be permitted to stay

Those who stand by Ukraine

Are tossed about like dry leaves

In seven strong winds

 

There is a word for this crime

Against humanity

A word we must speak aloud

And never forget:

Genocide

 

The perpetrators of this crime

Must pay the price

They must live their remaining days

On earth as the damned of Donbas

 

Regression

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

Regression

 

Of all the tragedies of human existence

Regression is among the saddest

To watch a loved one age backward

In a prolonged sunset of life

To become a child in thought

To believe others exist only to serve

To display emotions like a new hat

To perceive minutia as a grand event

To shape the world to your desire

 

As individuals may regress

So too may states and nations

War itself is a symptom of regression

The desire to dominate and possess

To absorb neighbors and former friends

To feign offense at the least provocation

The emotional outrage of a child

To bend the world to your point of view

 

Beneath the surface of the regressed

There lies a profound sadness

For in the expanse of true history

In the just fullness of rolling time

The regressive view cannot prevail

The world will not conform to your wishes

Outrage will collapse inward

The child will grow up

The regressed will grow silent

The world demands acceptance

 

The Alliance (NATO)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

The Alliance

 

It is time to expand the NATO alliance

To all nations that embrace democracy

At home we fight to keep the faith

Against the forces of autocracy

 

While the war in Ukraine still rages

All nations must live in fear

But for those bordering the aggressor

The threat is all too near

 

The Nordic nations are worthy

Of our friendship and support

When they ask to be included

The ball will rest in our court

 

Expand the NATO alliance

To the world let it be known

We stand with the nations of Europe

While Russia stands alone

 

Davos

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Davos

 

They gather once a year

The richest of the rich

The chosen of the chosen

To discuss survival of the fittest

The existential crises of the times

As if they were mere observers

As if their decisions were sideshows

And not the main event

 

They control the horizontal

They control the vertical

What they discuss at dinner

Effects every life on the planet

Perhaps in the cosmos

If they choose to stop Putin

Putin will be stopped

If they choose to end Ukraine

Ukraine will be ended

If they choose to alter the climate

The climate will be altered

If they choose to bury democracy

Begin the funeral dirge

 

But they choose to do nothing

They stand by and watch

The tragedy of human life on earth

They control the horizontal

They control the vertical

They are the masters of this life

Their survival is assured

 

Mass Shootings

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POEMICS

Mass Shootings

 

How dare we shrug at the blood of children

The death of innocents is always chilling

But to die in this manner…

A mad gunman (all mass shooters are mad)

Invades a sacred space –

Where the outside world is banished

Where an open mind is the only requirement –

And opens fire as if it were a war zone

As if wide-eyed kids were enemy soldiers

Where the explosion of gunfire does not end

Until blood covers the cold tiled floor

And nineteen children lie still

Motionless

Never to rise again…

 

To be a child and witness the slaughter

To have it imprinted on your mind

From Columbine to Sandy Hook

To a fourth-grade classroom in smalltown Texas

 

It will never end

Until America fundamentally changes

Until the gun industry gets out of politics

Until American voters stop pretending

That Americans cannot be free

Without a gun in every hand

Without access to mass-killing weapons

For every warped psycho killer

With a credit card

 

Mass shootings will not end

Until we vote out of office

Every self-serving politician

Who sold his and her soul

To protect the right to kill