Virtues of Democracy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: DEMOCRACY

Virtues of Democracy

 

When people come together

From diverse cultures and ages

Different backgrounds and races

Varied interests and stages

 

They can rise to the moment

When they find common ground

They can answer the calling

You cannot keep them down

 

You will see them at the ballot

You will hear them on the streets

When they stand as one people

They won’t go down in defeat

 

The virtue of our republic is

We can alter our course

When the old mount stumbles

We can ride a new horse

 

When the people are united

Their power is unbounded

Like the virtue of government

That our forebearers founded

 

A Legacy of Fire

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

Western Wildfires

 

From California throughout the west

We’ve put firefighters to the test

So here’s to all you climate deniers

Your legacy is a trail of fire

 

Massive swaths of land destroyed

Pristine forest and small towns

Villages and country schools

Fields of green are turning brown

 

The land grows dry and brittle

A desperate need for rain

Branches crack and fall to earth

Whole crops of fruit and grain

 

We know we’re in for hard times

We are paying for our past

We acted out of avarice

We knew it could not last

 

We wish we’d done things differently

We catered to deniers

Now we watch our homelands burn

In a legacy of fire

 

Paris Olympics

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Paris Olympics

 

The heart of the western world is Paris

It cannot be denied

The greatness of London and Berlin

Is known far and wide

Amsterdam and Prague

Have many on their side

But that Paris is the very heart

Cannot be denied

 

The host of the Olympics

As gracious as can be

The majesty of the Eiffel Tower

The wealth of Champs Elysees

The Palace of the Invalids

The glory of the Seine

The pyramid of the Louvre

The famed Musee d’Orsay

There is no place like Paris

On this or any day

 

The Olympics brings its grandeur

Paris gives its charm

Combined it is a spectacle

The most glorious of stars

To win the gold in Paris

The silver or the bronze

Would bring a rare panache

Perhaps a poem or a song

 

Mass Deportation

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IMMIGRATION

Mass Deportation

 

Have you heard the news?

They’re clamoring for mass deportation

They don’t want just a few

They believe it’s their salvation

Take a bite of it and chew

They would reinvent this nation

Let it simmer long and brew

It deserves contemplation

 

Send the migrants away

If they don’t have their papers

No longer can they stay

They’re all killers and rapers

Bow your heads now and pray

Lady Liberty? Remake her!

Do not let them stray

Pledge allegiance and fake her

 

Put them all in a cage

Until they’re ready to roll

Any gender and age

From the babes to the old

Put them up on the stage

Be brave and be bold

Let them feel your rage

Til they’ve accomplished their goal

 

Bebe Before Congress

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Bebe before Congress

 

He has been here before

To disrupt the democratic process

He wanted to end the Obama presidency

Despite his support for Israel

Despite all the money and military aid

For Bebe it is never enough

Nothing short of unconditional will do

He wants the right to commit genocide

He wants the right to strike at Lebanon

He wants the right to strike Iran

 

Bebe is a war criminal

His gross negligence allowed the attack

There were protests in the streets

There were calls for his resignation

He needed a war with Palestine

He needs the war to carry on

 

His allies in Washington ignore his crimes

They are sworn to his allegiance

They are sworn to his support

Even as he decimates all of Gaza

Even as he levels homes and hospitals

Even as he ensures a hundred years of war

 

Everything that Bebe says in

Condemnation of Hamas is true

Babies burned before their parents

Women abused and tortured

The taking of innocent lives

What is also true is its opposite

One hundred fold…

 

Israel has achieved its revenge

Hamas is destroyed

Palestinians live in constant sorrow

And there is no end

 

Go home, Bebe

Plead your case before your own people

The people who know you best

The people who know your thirst

For the blood of Palestine is unquenchable

The people who know your desire

For war is a bottomless pit

 

While We Looked Away

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GAZA

While We Looked Away

 

Obsessed with the president’s age

And a failed assassination

A celebration on the stage

A christening of the nation

And while we looked away

The Gaza annihilation

Accelerated every day

 

This is how our world runs

The revolving cycle of the news

That which titillates and stuns

It comes in threes and twos

And when we look away

We never have a clue

The ghouls come out to play

It’s sad but it is true

 

Keep your eyes on the prize

The demons never rest

Through all the righteous lies

We will welcome our new guest

And while we look away

The destruction of Gaza

Proceeds every day

 

Like a story from a tragic book

A tale of blood and rage

We do not want to look

At the horrors of our age

So when we look away

We know what they will do

In Gaza and Ukraine

It’s sad but it is true

A Graceful Exit

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

A Graceful Exit

 

A great actor knows how to make

A stunning entrance and a graceful exit

A great politician knows when and how

To leave the stage

 

Thank you for your service, sir

Thank you for your devotion

Thank you for understanding now

Without fear or emotion

 

The time has come to pass the torch

To your loyal vice president

She has a greater chance now

Of holding down the residence

 

You know in your heart of hearts

It is time to step down

The stakes are much too large

Time to take the higher ground

 

You’ve had a phenomenal career

Now take a bow with grace

We will always in our hearts

Reserve for you a sacred place

 

(Note: Biden steps down; endorses

Kamala Harris.)

Manchurian Candidate

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Manchurian Candidate

 

“I don’t really care what happens to

Ukraine.”  J.D. Vance

 

The man has no backbone

No conviction or restraint

In his grand quest for power

A man of principle he ain’t

 

He once stood for justice

And the American way

But the man he once was

Is not the man he is today

 

He has sold his very soul

For a chance at that ring

He would eat a lump of coal

He would do anything

 

He would kiss the man’s boot

If there is something to gain

It took him less than a second

To sacrifice Ukraine

 

He will bow to the Don

The Don bows to the Vlad

As for our democracy

The prognosis is bad

 

Cogs in the Machine

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Cogs in the Machine (Project 2025)

 

They will transform the Department of

Justice into an army of revenge

They will outlaw abortion everywhere

They will bring the bible into the schools

They will ban affirmative action

They will make alternative lifestyles illegal

They will sanction discrimination against

Nonwhites and non-Christians

They will make it hard to vote for

Anyone who is not white

They will mobilize the National Guard

To beat back protesters

They will replace civil servants with

Political sycophants

They will dismantle the Environmental

Protection Agency

They will step back and watch the ravages

Of global climate change

They will encourage the dissemination of

High-powered weaponry

They will be the cogs in the machine that

Enable the government to function

They will stand by as the system crashes

And the nation descends into chaos

They will step back with a wry grin

As the world follows into madness

 

Symbolic Action

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SUPREME COURT

Symbolic Action

 

It may only be symbolic

But it sets the record straight

These Supreme Court Justices

Are filled with righteous hate

 

They hate the common laborers

For being who they are

For wanting decent wages

For wanting an affordable car

 

They hate the world of women

For wanting the rights of men

They’ve sworn to have their vengeance

For having to fight for their rights again

 

They hate people of color

For demanding equal treatment

For standing up against brutality

For supporting an impeachment

 

They hate honest journalists

For exposing their corruption

In receiving several fortunes

Yielding to wealth’s seduction

 

(AOC drafts articles of impeachment

against Alito and Thomas of the

Supreme Court.)

 

Life Lost in Butler PA

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

Life Lost in Butler PA

 

Someone lost his life today

In Butler Pennsylvania

It was not the one intended

An innocent bystander

A participant in the process

An engaged citizen

For better or for worse

Collateral damage.

 

The former president survived

A nick in the ear

Some say he invited it

Some say he brought it on himself

He swore vengeance on his enemies

He incited a full-scale riot

But no one deserves to die

For his or her political beliefs

Even if those beliefs inspire violence

Even if those beliefs are abhorrent

Political violence must be condemned

The age of violence must end

In a civilized society

We elect a president

We do not kill our adversaries

 

A Moral Dilemma

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

A Moral Dilemma (Conscription)

 

To defend one’s nation from a foreign

invader is above all a righteous cause

But military conscription without

exemption defies all moral laws

 

Without doubt Ukraine is in desperate need

Their enemy lacks all moral restraint

Our soul cries out, our conscience bleeds

We pray to the heavens for a warrior saint

 

But conscription is not the answer

It betrays all sense of the good and right

To a righteous cause it is a cancer

You cannot answer right with might

 

We cannot know what the future holds

We can only hope the good prevails

We pray our side is strong and bold

That the wind will bless our sails

 

As we charge into this windswept sea

Let us always yield to the right and true

For what we dream is what will be

And what we are is what we do

 

Don't Swim in the Seine

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RIVER SERIES

Swimming in the Seine

 

There are many things that you can do

Like singing in the rain

Like driving down a lonely road

Or strolling down a country lane

You can take a trip to Iceland

You can spend some time in Spain

You can say or do a million things

And do them once again

But you can’t swim in the Seine

 

For the river is a toxic stew

It would surely make you ill

You might survive the poisoning

If you take a magic pill

You might do it if you dared

But the wiser will refrain

There’s a world of awe in Paris

It’s a place where one has been

But don’t swim in the Seine

 

You can walk down Champs Elysees

You can visit Musee d’Orsay

Bow down before the Arc de Triomphe

Pay your respect to Notre Dame

You cannot miss la Tour Eiffel

Nor the grace of Pere Lachaise

The Louvre is filled with wonders

You can share them with a friend

But you can’t swim in the Seine