Days of Change

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN HISTORY

 

 DAYS OF CHANGE

The assassinations of JFK, MLK & Bobby

Each event a nation mourned

Each event a hidden element celebrated

We wondered who benefited

Who struck a deal with the devil

Days of sorrow

Days of change

 

The killing of the kids at Kent State

The killings at Jackson State

Shit got real fast

We knew how they hated us

We did not know how much

Days of sorrow

Days of change

 

The resignation of LBJ

Now we knew we could bring change

We could stop an evil war

Bring peace to the killing fields

A new era of hope and wonder

That’s when they killed Bobby

Days of sorrow

Days of change

 

The resignation of Richard Nixon

The man who embraced China

The man who elevated dictators

The man who won 49 states

The man who hired burglars

And kept a long enemies list

Resigned in disgrace

Days of wonder

Days of change

 

The morning the twin towers fell

An act of unconscionable violence

The death of thousands

A declaration of vengeance

The global war on terror

Iraq and Afghanistan

Days of sorrow

Days of change

 

The reelection of Donald Trump…

Jack Random is the author of eight novels (including Pawns to Players and Wasichu), three collections of short stories, two volumes of plays, ten volumes of political essays (Jazzman Chronicles) and six books of poetry (including Life Songs and Lost in Her Soul).  His most recent works are Poemics Americana and Poemics International (Crow Dog Press).

North Korea Crosses the Line

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Korea Crosses the Line

 

Japan and South Korea in the East China Sea

Sending Xi Jinping a warning sign

Crossing swords with the Philippines

While North Korea crosses the line

 

The Russians are emboldened

By the election in the west

A new deal with the dear leader

Will their new weapons pass the test?

Meanwhile Trump is almost giddy

Netanyahu is his special guest

While most of Europe is in mourning

The autocrats are feeling fine

The Ukrainians are in panic

North Korea has crossed the line

 

What kind of world are we handing down?

To an undeserving generation?

A world of warming wayward bound

Years of war and devastation

 

Is it too late to sound a warning?

Is it too late to make a change?

We are in the age of warming

With all solutions out of range

Flames of November

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

Flames of November

 

As fire rips through the great northeast

We will long remember

The flames of November

As the warming gathers its feast

 

We look back on the days not long ago

When the soil was too wet for flames

The season passed through November slow

And the seasons were largely the same

 

Now the laws of nature no longer apply

The flames find root in dry ground

We are not at leave to wonder why

Though the naysayers still astound

 

The age of the warming will take its toll

Beware the flames of November

The vast destruction was foretold

For those who care to remember

 

Now the world is in its final throes

Though the world will not surrender

We will live to sing our song of woe

Just remember the flames of November

 

Conscientious Objection

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RESISTANCE

Conscientious Objection

 

There was a man named Olaf *

I remember him quite well

I remember his defiance

On the day his brothers fell

Olaf held his principles

Until the day he died

While all around him faltered

His conscience did abide

 

The more we look around

The closer we inspect

All citizens have a right

To conscientiously object

 

We are watching as our freedom

Is threatened to the core

The truth has little value

Our rights have little more

A woman’s right to choose

The right to organize

The right to march the streets

To call out all the lies

 

The more we see their actions

The less we can respect

All citizens have a duty

To conscientiously object

 

* I Sing of Olaf by e.e. cummings

 

Wind and Fire

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

Wind and Fire

 

Wind and fire, thunder and rain

The world we live in

Is a world of pain

From Southern Cal to the south of Spain

Wind and fire, thunder and rain

 

We don’t believe in the warming earth

Our faith can stop the rain

To a new world we are giving birth

Our powers will not wane

 

Fire and smoke, wind and rage

The time we live in

Is an angry age

In every nation on the world stage

Smoke and fire, wind and rage

 

We the people have lost our way

We’ve sold out to the money crowd

If you have the money they’ll let you play

No dissident or dissent allowed

 

Flood and storm, wind and fire

We’re balanced on

A high tightwire

With consequence both harsh and dire

Raging storms, wind and fire

The Case for the Kurds

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

The Case for the Kurds

 

Erdogan is arresting rival leaders

For their connections to the Kurds

Disregard the lies you’re told

Put aside what you have heard

The Kurds are freedom fighters

You can take them at their word

 

They fight for their own homeland

For an independent nation state

They have earned their right to freedom

And no longer will they wait

They want back what they have lost

They believe it is their fate

 

They fought like lions against ISIS

They were our allies and our friends

This should never be denied

Their cause will never bend

Despite the avalanche of lies

There is a message we must send:

 

Give them what they deserve

Admit their cause is right

Take them at their solemn word

Stand behind them in their fight

 

The Next Phase (Resistance)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: DEMOCRACY

The Next Phase (Resist)

 

We approach a turning point

A transition in the struggle

An acceleration in our efforts

Or a fundamental change

A continuation of the battle

Or the start of a new phase

 

What applies in America

Applies equally in Ukraine

As we await the election

We prepare for a change

If it is not as we have hoped

If the unthinkable comes to pass

We begin the resistance

A phase that will last

 

In the battle for democracy

We will take it to the streets

If they strike us down like cattle

We will march to a different beat

We will march in silent protest

We will refuse to move on

We will test the limits of their brutality

We will fold back if necessary

Into the shadows of resistance

And we will resist

 

In the battle for Ukraine

If the unthinkable comes to pass

The Russians and their allies

Become the hated occupiers

Ukraine becomes the resistance

How long can the occupation hold?

The spirit of independence lives

The resistance will not fold

Forever and a day

We will resist

 

Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan

The occupation will fail

 

Forever and a day

We will resist

 

The Day that Shook the World

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

The Day that Shook the World

 

We should have seen it coming

The writing was on the wall

The day that shook the world

May be the day that we fall

 

Europe stands on edge

Ukraine is on the line

NATO is forming contingencies

For a world that is realigned

 

Vladimir Putin wears a smile

That will last until tomorrow

The dictators are in ecstasy

The free world is in sorrow

 

A new age has begun

Filled with worry and despair

The autocrats are in power

And corporations do not care

 

About the warming of the planet

About protecting human rights

About the fall of a republic

We watch it vanish from our sight

 

Mourning in America

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Mourning in America

 

The majority* of Americans

Have made their feeling clear

The rest of us are mourning

For the nation we hold dear

 

We cannot deny the mandate

Unlike the opposing side

We’ve lost our democratic state

Now we’re forced to take a ride

 

Down the autocratic lane

Where brutes and tyrants live

So begins the tyrant’s reign

That history will not forgive

 

It is mourning in America

And all around the world

The once proud democracy

Into the void was hurled

 

We will not give up hope

We’ll rise to fight again

We’re facing a daunting slope

With a deep desire to win

 

* Plurality

Erosion of Democracy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Erosion of Democracy

 

We do not lose democracy overnight

It erodes gradually over years

We watch it happen without a fight

It does not arouse our deepest fears

 

They strip away our voting rights

They degrade our vote with gerrymander

They push our protests out of sight

They diminish our side with candor

 

The wealthy buy our fourth estate

They take control of our information

They beat us down and call it great

Say goodbye to our once great nation

 

Our corporate mobsters have the power

Awarded by the Court Supreme

Some will applaud the final hours

The death of the American dream

 

Will we rise from our deep despair?

To gain back what we have lost

There are far too many who do not care

Bend the knee to our new boss

 

The Unseen Hand (of Oppression)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

The Unseen Hand

 

The unseen hand of intimidation

Belongs to the brute of the Kremlin

His presence felt in most every nation

Like a force of voting gremlins

 

They promote stories with clever lies

The truth is altered and deformed

They provide their guilty alibies

They invade like a closing storm

 

From Austria to the Slavic states

From Wisconsin to the Hague

The unseen hand has found its place

Like the scourge of a Russian plague

 

Democracy is on the run

Most everywhere we turn

We cannot rest until it’s done

Let the flames of freedom burn

 

Do not give in, do not despair

The alarm has been sounded

We are rallying the free and fair

On the principles that were founded

 

In ancient Greece and modern Rome

The bricks of our foundation

Democracy has found a home

In the best of civilized nations

 

The Common Good

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Common Good

 

There is something deeply disturbing

About the state of our democracy

When so many of our citizens

Are tempted to autocracy

 

We will never have to vote again

That is exactly what he said

Our democracy has flown away

Say goodnight and go to bed

 

In the morning when we wake up

Our once great country tis of thee

Is no longer of and by the people

And the people are no longer free

 

We had a long and storied run

But the wealthy spoiled the pot

The filthy rich took all the power

And let the republic rot

 

We neglected it for far too long

We let the wealthy have their way

Now that they’ve bought all branches

We will no longer have a say

 

It is for the common good they say

And for the benefit of very few

It is far too late to make a change

There is nothing more we can do

 

The World Awaits

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

The World Awaits

 

With bated breath the world awaits

The end of our republic?

The christening of a new age?

The rendering of fate

 

The raging propaganda wars

Everywhere across the globe

Misinformation in full force

Attacking the frontal lobe

 

We do not know what to believe

Our eyes and ears mislead us

The information we receive

Is what they choose to feed us

 

But people have a seventh sense

We carry it deep inside

It is our last and best defense

A human override

 

There are evil forces everywhere

We will fight them back again

As long as people know and care

The evil will not win

 

Despots United

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Despots United

 

When despots act in unity

The dangers are compounded

Bold aggression with impunity

Diplomacy confounded

 

Kim the Grim and Vlad the Bad

Are suddenly best of friends

Nothing positive can be had

When the peace on them depends

 

Kim supplies the warriors

Vladimir supplies the tech

An evil Huck and Tom Sawyer

What looms is a massive wreck

 

The world must stand at ready

When such despots come together

Hold them back and hold it steady

They are birds of a wicked feather

 

They must suffer for their actions

Their communion cannot hold

For all who join their evil faction

The reaction must be bold

 

(3,000 North Korean troops

amass on the Ukrainian border.)

Contamination of the Press

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Contamination of the Press

 

Look hard and long, it’s plain to see

The press ain’t what it used to be

A shadow of its former self

A dusty volume on the shelf

 

We’ve seen the power of the press

When Richard Nixon did his best

To undermine our free and fair

In the days when papers cared

 

In a story that toppled towers

They did not hide, they did not cower

They exposed his dirt and crooked deeds

And let it run where it would lead

 

Today they let it all go down

The truth is nowhere to be found

Who cares about democracy?

We’ll profit from autocracy

 

So let it all unfold

The truth will not be told

Not today and not tomorrow

When all is gloom and sorrow

 

(Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post

declines to endorse for president.)

 

Sympathy for the Nazis

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP

Sympathy for the Nazis

 

He wanted to be a dictator

The generals stood in his way

They knew he was a sympathizer

They still know it to this day

 

He told them plain and clear

He thought Hitler had it right

With an iron fist he ruled by fear

They were strong and bold and white

 

He’s not hiding his proclivities

Or they are hidden in plain sight

He doesn’t bother with civility

He loves a crooked fight

 

He has sympathy for the Nazis

And the man who led them all

He killed six million Jews with ease

Before the Axis took the fall

 

Do not give this man the power

To turn this nation on its head

He would march us to the final hour

Just to see his ambitions fed

 

BRICS

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

BRICS

 

Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa

You are judged by the company you keep

Brazil, South Africa, India

I believe you are in too deep

 

Do you really want to be

In the company of brute dictators?

Far better to make friends

With republicans and liberators

 

You’ve been tempted by oppressors

In all their varied forms

Blatant cheats and vote depressors

We hope you have reformed

 

But if you wish to make alliance

With the planet’s worst offenders

We’ll reconsider our reliance

On your human rights defenders

 

A new world is taking shape

We are taking it in stride

Consider every step you take

Do not take the other side

 

The Escalator

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL AT WAR

The Escalator

 

It’s personal now

An explosion next to the coastal home

Of Benjamin Netanyahu

A drone directed by Hezbollah

With the fingerprints of Iran

It marks a new phase of the war: 

 

Calculated and deliberate assassination

The escalator of war is rising

Israel has killed the leader of Hezbollah

Israel has killed the leader of Hamas

Israel has leveled Gaza

Israel has struck inside Lebanon and Iran

The borders no longer apply

The limits no longer operate

We have reached new heights of warfare

And the escalator still rises

 

A year ago peace seemed possible

The Saudis were prepared to recognize

The sovereign Israeli state

Now they move closer to Iran

Now the Israelis are outcast

Iran is the defender of Gaza

Iran is the defender of Lebanon

And still the escalator rises

 

There is no end to war

The escalator rises

And we cannot find the door