Highway to Climate Hell

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

Highway to Climate Hell

 

“We’re playing Russian roulette with our

planet and we need an exit ramp off the

highway to climate hell.”

 

Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General

 

 

The hottest summer in recorded time

Year after year after scorching year

Yet still there are those who will deny

  Don’t worry, friends, have another beer

  Ours is not to wonder why

  Have a laugh and ring the bell

  We’re on the road to climate hell!

 

We could help if only we had the will

That we don’t is becoming clear

We’ve leaders yelling drill baby drill

  Have a party and raise a cheer

  Sit back and take a pill

  There is no need to fear

  In the end by God it turns our well

  On the road to climate hell!

 

Clarence the Corrupt

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN JUSTICE

Clarence the Corrupt

 

Clarence Thomas takes the honor

As the most corrupt justice in history

His actions, words and rulings

Seem boldly prone to infamy

 

He owes it all to Harlan Crow

To the tune of millions of dollars

To whom he owes allegiance

He should wear it on his collar

 

He’s a very wealthy man

Who does not care how it appears

The end of his subsistence

Is the only thing he fears

 

He was a snake going in

He’ll be a snake going out

That his corruption is severe

Is far beyond reasonable doubt

 

Justice Thomas should resign

He should hang his head in shame

An embarrassment to the court

A disgrace to the family name

 

Berlin Lament

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

Berlin Lament

 

The rise of the right in Germany

Makes us wonder where decency went

Their success in the recent elections

Has us singing the Berlin lament

 

It reminds us we can never rest

We must always be on guard

To face the latest fascist test

To stand up though it may be hard

To put forth our democratic best

While they play the racist card

 

We applaud our fellows in Germany

Who rise in democracy’s defense

We must never yield to their pressure

Lest we sing the Berlin lament

 

For the Workers

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LABOR

For the Workers

 

Stand up for the working folks

As they fight for a decent wage

The corporations pad their profits

The workers have their rage

 

If the corporates have their way

The workers will have no rights

The only time they have a say

Is when they go on strike

 

The hotel workers walk the line

Their raise is way overdue

To us they’re looking for a sign

A good reason to vote blue

 

In the year of an election

The workers hold the power

Give them what they want and need

A living wage per hour

 

The fight for labor never ends

We know you’re growing tired

But know your enemies and your friends

And which ones we should fire

 

People of Israel Rising

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL/GAZA

People of Israel Rising

 

The people of Israel are rising

Fed up with your dirty war

Fed up with your phony efforts

Sickened to their very core

 

They’re tired of supporting you

You think you’re so damn clever

Without regard for what you do

You want a war to fight forever

 

You’ll always have another reason

As the blood flows down the streets

Another war for every season

Your anger fuels the heat

 

Bring all your people home today

The people you did not defend

It doesn’t matter what you say

It is time for your war to end

 

The people are your masters

Not the other way around

Your way has been a great disaster

Have the courage to step down

 

We're Still There

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IRAQ

We’re Still There

 

We invaded Iraq without provocation

We created the backlash of ISIS

We proved ourselves an imperial nation

When we exploited the 911 crisis

 

ISIS became a growing concern

When we left Iraq in tatters

The conquering nations never learn

As every empire shatters

 

We left Iraq an absolute mess

Iran exploited our disaster

We did what often we do best

When ambition is our master

 

We lost the war to national pride

But not the kind you’re thinking

The pride was on the other side

Our ship of state was sinking

 

We left Iraq many years ago

We were caught in a dragon’s lair

As doubt in our intentions grow

We acknowledge we’re still there

 

Indiscriminate Bombing

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: PUTIN

Indiscriminate Bombing

 

Indiscriminate bombing is a crime against humanity

Putin’s bombing of Ukraine is a testament to insanity

He doesn’t care how many die

How many mothers and fathers cry

He is immune to human emotion

Brutality is his method, cruelty his devotion

He is a monster plain and clear

He rules by ruthlessness and fear

When his war comes to an end

He’ll have no allies and no friends

Except the man at Mar-a-Lago

Whose moral founding is Iago

He will be a wanted man

The world will bind him if we can

And we will try him for his crimes

Among the monsters of all time

 

High IQ

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

High IQ

 

Like a musician who can’t hum a tune

Or a midnight show at noon

The brightest light in any room

Should know better than this:

Degrading Make-a-Wish

A photo op at Arlington

Dismissing the Medal of Honor

Insulting John McCain

The man cannot refrain

 

A man of high IQ

(if we take him at his word)

Shouldn’t stumble on the easy things

It almost seems absurd

Like a plane that has no wings

Like a listener who never heard

Or a singer who doesn’t sing

Or the winner who finished third

 

It seems he never had a clue

He had a lot of money

What else could he do?

He had to win the highest office

His kind can never lose

Except he did and will again

The false becomes the true

The greatest man who’s ever been

A man of high IQ

 

KGB

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: PUTIN

KGB (by any other name)

 

Putin led the KGB

Against all western ways

He practiced his deceptions

He tortured killed and maimed

The villains on the other side

Would never be the same

The KGB it never died

They just changed the name

 

Putin was the KGB

He went against the grain

He lacked all moral grounding

His cruelty was plain

A ruthlessness we can’t abide

The way he played the game

The KGB it never died

They just changed its name

 

The evil forces are in charge

They’re borderline insane

They want to conquer everyone

They’re efforts are in vain

They waited in the shadows

Before the darkness came

The KGB it never died

They just changed its name

 

They took hold of Crimea

Before the invasion of Ukraine

That they want to rule the world

Has become so very plain

If Putin had a conscience

He would live in constant shame

The KGB it never died

They just changed its name

 

Hang Your Head (for RFK Jr.)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Hang Your Head

 

I remember Bobby well

He gave the people hope

What a story he would tell

About his son’s descending slope

 

Bobby stood against the war

In a far-off Asian land

His son stands with Putin

As if he ever gave a damn

 

When he takes the stage with Trump

His father rises from his grave

He’s the child who craves attention

We must implore him to behave

 

You stand against your father’s will

So hang your head in shame

To the mountain you are just a hill

You’ve disgraced the family name

 

We won’t remember Bobby

For the evil that you do

For we know that he opposes

All those who stand with you

(RFK Jr. endorses Trump)

Hope Rises

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Hope Rises

 

The night belongs to hope

A memory of the past

When they dwelled in the White House

Somehow we knew it would not last

But here on this Chicago night

Our hopes begin to stir

They linger in the rafters

The thought of how things were

When a man with funny ears

And a rhythm to his step

Led with calm and dignity

A mood that never slept

He lifted us with words

He calmed us through the night

With him we always knew

It would all turn out right

So now they bring a message

That hope will always rise

When good people come together

And answer to the cry:

Freedom, hope and dignity

Comfort us once more

They speak and we remember

What we’re fighting for

 

(The Obamas at the DNC)

The Age of Fire

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

The Age of Fire

 

We are in the age of fire

Of that there is no doubt

There are consequences dire

There are no easy ways out

 

You can hope and you can pray

If it helps you to feel good

But we will have to face the day

When we must do the things we should

 

We are in the age of fire

The age of industry is done

We must raise our spirits higher

As we throw away our guns

 

There is far too much to lose

Without power hungry wars

A better way is ours to choose

We must open every door

 

To a safer way of being

A way to tame the fire beast

A way of living and of seeing

That will harm the planet least

 

Farewell Macron

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

Farewell Macron

 

All of France is on hiatus

They declared an Olympic truce

But since the last Olympic cheer

Macron has worn a political noose

 

His party took a beating

While the far-right moved ahead

The people have made it clear

They’d prefer Castets instead

 

Macron has been remarkable

In the most difficult of times

But now the people want a change

For the next phase of the climb

 

It’s the way of the republic

Change is coming for us all

Those who reach the pinnacle

Must be prepared for the fall

 

So farewell Monsieur Macron

You have served your nation well

You will long be remembered

Take a bow and say farewell

Drones Over Moscow

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

 

Drones over Moscow

 

What goes up must come down

What moves forward will move back

What you reap will come round

The train called Payback is on track

 

There are drones over Moscow

Armed with deadly force

More than reason would allow

Ukraine will stay on course

 

Vladimir is running scared

How could such a thing occur?

It isn’t right! It isn’t fair!

Let’s go back to how things were

 

But things will not go back

Things are moving straight ahead

Ukraine will launch its next attack

Russia’s forces will be bled

 

Call off your dogs and go home

Bring your war to an end

A losing Russia stands alone

Without an ally or a friend

 

Kidnapper Nation

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RUSSIA

Kidnapper Nation

 

Some kill journalists

Putin leans to kidnapping

You don’t get much for a dead body

You get a spy and a money launderer

An assassin and a weapons dealer

For a living breathing journalist

And a Russian born dissident

Never mind that it lowers the bar

For cruel and ruthless leadership

Putin and his evil ilk

Will not hesitate to arrest, detain

And convict you of espionage

It’s what dictators do for recreation

Putin’s Russia should be added

To the list of primitive nations

And violent lawless states

Do not travel there

Do not contribute to their depravity

Russia is a rogue nation

A nation of thugs and outlaws

She has no place in the world

Of civilized nations

 

The Tradeoff

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Tradeoff

 

Politics is the art of negotiation

For every initiative there is a price

If you want order surrender freedom

If you want pasta give up some rice

 

The protesters in Chicago

Want a ceasefire yesterday

They do not seem to understand

There will be a price to pay

 

Cut off funding to Israel today

Ukraine will lose funding tomorrow

Is that a cost you’re willing to pay?

Ukraine in perpetual sorrow

 

If you set the convention on fire

You might exact a few concessions

But if your efforts turn out dire

You may learn a chilling lesson

 

Remember who your enemy is

He wears an extremely long red tie

If your purpose aligns with his

Soon enough you will wonder why

 

(on the eve of the DNC in Chicago)

Who Owns You?

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Who Owns You?

 

Ten cool mill from the Egyptian dictator

Shady real estate deals with the Saudi’s

Crooked bribes and shakedowns

Russia, China, Turkey, Hungary

The White House is for sale

 

Who owns you baby?

You demanded 40 bill from the oil industry

In exchange for ending renewable energy

You offered an end to regulation of the

Technology industry in exchange for

Unspecified billions

 

Who owns you baby?

You informed the Wall Street bankers and

Dealers that there is a price to ending the

Oversight the prevents the next great

Economic meltdown

 

Who owns you baby?

The one sure thing is that you owe nothing

To the suckers and working saps who gave

You their time, dollars and praise to get

You elected

 

You owe nothing to the militant fools

Who gave you their blood and freedom

To enforce your uprising and insurrection

 

Who owns you baby?

The big money interests who promise to

Give you riches in exchange for unspoken

Favors

World Class Liar

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POEMICS

 

World Class

 

Someone you know is a world class liar

An elephant’s ass and a climate denier

Light a match and he’ll catch on fire

He will finish last from wire to wire

 

We’ll name him if we must

Take a guess, it’s Elon Musk

He’s got a prime seat on the loser’s bus

He’s with the weird, he’s not with us

 

He’s got an outrageous amount of money

That doesn’t make him smart or funny

He’s a dark, dark day when all is sunny

When he laughs it’s almost stunning

 

His friends? He doesn’t have them

He’s like a flower without a stem

Or a brand-new building that’s been condemned

He’s a robot among good men

 

His spotlight days will come and go

He’s shamed by all the things we know

He’s a curtain up without a show

His know-it-all has lost its glow

 

The Crack

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE WAR

The Crack

 

A crack in the wall of lies

The myth of Putin’s might

A blow that fate defies

A glimmering of light

 

Ukraine strikes across the border

What now can be done?

What now of Russia’s order?

A war that can’t be won

 

The crack will grow in size

A dark canyon of growing doubt

The Russian people finally rise

To demand that they get out

 

Putin’s madness is now exposed

His infallibility shattered

Remember the day Ukrainians rose

And the Russian conscripts scattered

 

Bring your forlorn soldiers home

While there’s still a chance to save face

Before your nation you stand alone

There is for you no place