Military Lockdown

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Military Lockdown

 

While much of the nation is under siege

At the mercy of a runaway virus

Staying in taking refuge staying away

The nation’s capital is in lockdown

Armed soldiers on every corner

Barricades and razor wire surrounding

The institutions of government

 

The least represented city in America

Transformed into a fortress from without

Or a prison from within

 

The question now goes out to every

Soldier every cop and every citizen:

Which side are you on?

 

Will you honor our democracy?

Will you stand by the law?

When it really matters is your

Patriotism made of straw?

 

There were many reasons to go along

Many reasons to turn away

Many reasons to pretend it’s okay

Now there are no more reasons

You cannot condone treason

Without being a traitor

 

Five persons have given their lives

Five families are in mourning

How many more before you understand

The depth of this depravity?

 

 

Color Blind

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GEORGE FLOYD SERIES

Color Blind

 

To be black or brown in America

Is to be born a person of interest

A perpetual suspect by birthright

 

To wear the blue in America

Is to be beyond question

Beyond suspicion or reproach

Beyond the reach of justice

Beyond the veil of accountability

 

To be black or brown and angry

Is guilt beyond all reason

A verdict preordained

A sentence without mercy

Without doubt or second thought

 

For justice is not color blind

It sees the colors black and brown

And hands a sentence down

It sees the color blue

And presumes the word is true

 

No justice is not balanced

And it is not color blind

For it depends on your skin

The justice you will find

 

Countdown (The Final Daze)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Countdown

 

After four long years of bitter division

Four long years of catastrophic decisions

After four long years of sarcastic derision

We have seen the end of a gloomy vision

And we’re still standing

 

Countdown from the number nine

We appeal to every force divine

 

Countdown from the number eight

We pray the end comes not too late

 

Countdown from the number seven

Let all our prayers be heard in heaven

 

Countdown from the number six

Empty out his bag of tricks

 

Countdown from the number five

May our deliverance at last arrive

 

Countdown from the number four

May we finally close the door

 

Countdown from the number three

A vision of the world to be

 

Countdown from the number two

So many things we must now do

 

Countdown to the number one

Praise and glory it’s finally done

 

Attack of the Mutants

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

Attack of the Mutants

 

As the virus spreads at an accelerated pace

They cannot rule out a mutant race

 

It seems so foreign and out of place

As if it came from outer space

 

How very different it would be

If the enemy came from across the sea

 

Would we mobilize every known resource

To defeat this rabid beast?  Of course

 

We are dying at a disturbing rate

Failure to mobilize would seal our fate

 

It is past time to sound the global alarm

We must protect all people from harm

 

We cannot stop to ask what cost

For if we do all is lost

 

Pandemic Rage (Return of the Virus)

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

 

Pandemic Rage

 

A shot across the bow

A warning heard both far and wide

While insurgents stormed the capitol

While the people were preoccupied

While impeachment grounds were drafted

The pandemic threat intensified

 

In case you hadn’t noticed

A mutant virus made the rounds

And though it started in Great Britain

It has found American ground

 

If you’re one who thinks you are immune

Beware this virus will take you down

For every move we’ve made is wrong

And what is lost may not be found

 

A nine-eleven every day

Pearl Harbor has been surpassed

If we fail to vaccinate the nation

How much longer will it last?

 

Tyranny & Rebellion

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

Tyranny & Rebellion

 

In the wake of a failed insurrection

We must take full account

A coalition of madmen with guns

And the mindless rabble

Assaulted the nation’s capital

And were allowed to breach

They carried the usual slogans

Of reactionary unrest

Confederate and American flags

Don’t tread on me!

Nazi symbolism

Tokens of white supremacy

 

They claimed the right to Freedom!

But their actions spoke of fear

They were afraid of losing hold

They were afraid of losing power

Afraid of losing their weaponry

Afraid of being knocked down

The rungs of wealth and privilege

And they wanted all of us

To feel that same fear

 

In that they succeeded

We were afraid

We are afraid

As well we should be

 

They got one thing right

And everything wrong

They have a right to rebel

Against the chains of tyranny

But they failed to recognize

That the tyrant holding the chains

Was their own

 

Empowering the Beast

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

Empowering the Beast

 

They all bowed down

When he handed out favors

From the mindless rabble

To our elected leaders

 

The blind followed the blind

The faithful followed the faithless

A self-sustaining movement

Among sheep it was contagious

 

They lauded him with praise

Regaled him with promises

Lifted up his word and image

Empowered him with rage

 

He caged children and they cheered him

Built a wall and they revered him

When he praised a despot they looked away

He pardoned thugs and criminals

Shook down foreign heads of state

Surrendered to a deadly plague

They shrugged with nothing to say

 

He incited a mob attack

To demonstrated his strength

Break down the walls of congress

Break through their iron gates

 

He filled their hearts with terror

They cowered and peeled away

Incredulous and dumb

They disown the monster they created

The beast they prodded on

 

Father forgive us they plead

We know not what we’ve done

We empowered this brutal tyrant

We thought he was the chosen one

 

American Democracy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

American Democracy

 

Our democracy is damaged

Wounded to the core

The myth of our republic

Can comfort us no more

 

Masters of disenfranchisement

Sedition by subtraction

Win by all means necessary

Subterfuge and distraction

 

Designer districts are in fashion

Multiply the votes of whites

Dominate the federal courts

Repeal all voting rights

 

Support the electoral college

Despite its fallacies and flaws

The elite must always rule

Protected by our laws

 

It all goes back to slavery

Reconstruction and Jim Crow

While we have made some progress

The process is far too slow

 

Give everyone the right to vote

Let each vote count the same

Let’s insure that our democracy

Is more than just a name

 

The Autocrat Insurrection

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

The Autocrat Insurrection

 

Never in the history of the world

Have the people rose up

In support of autocracy

 

Never have ordinary people

Offered up their lives

To empower dictatorship

 

But here they gather

On the steps of the capitol building

In the halls of congress

In the offices of elected leaders

On the throne of the senate

At the desks of the people’s house

Dismantling our democracy

Brick by brick

 

Shame and infamy

That so many people

Could be so fooled

By one maniacal man

 

(autocracy = one man rule)

 

The Breach (Storming of the Bastille)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Breach

 

As the founders gathered in Philadelphia

To reconstitute the nation

The people of Paris stormed the Bastille

An armory a fortress and a prison

Where dissidents were locked away

Where the power of the crown

To oppress the will of the people

Was enshrined in iron and stone

 

The storming of the Bastille

Christened the French Revolution

An upheaval that ushered in

The Reign of Terror

A purge of the aristocracy

Of priests and privilege

Retribution by guillotine

 

This is not the storming of the Bastille

Though it carries bloody consequence

This is the rabble of a lawless leader

Incited to violent uprising

This is the result of electing an autocrat

A ruthless vicious wannabe king

Who can never accept failure

This is a shameful display of the people

Attacking their own institutions

Of self government

 

This is not the storming of the Bastille

It is a breach of the republic

And the disgrace of a nation

 

Accused!

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  POETRY OF POLITICS

Accused!

 

Mr. President: You stand accused!

 

Of summoning the power of state

To overrule the will of the people

And overturn a free and fair election

 

You stand accused!

 

Of undermining our democracy

With every breath you take

With every false declaration

With every truth you forsake

 

You stand accused!

 

Of enticing military officers

Gutless leaders and public officials

To undertake a graceless coup

A betrayal of epic proportions

In plain broad view

 

You stand accused!

 

Of disgracing the office you hold

The empire you once led

And the party you still lead

You’ve bled it till it’s dead

 

You stand accused!

 

Of inciting militia and gun owners

To violence on the streets

A rebel force to rise

To take and give their lives

So that you may gather riches

In schemes that you’ve devised

 

You stand accused!

 

Of abandoning all reason

Of betraying all principle

Of shaming the heart of shame

And tainting your family name

Now until the end of time

You’ve only yourself to blame

 

You sir stand accused!

 

How do you plead?

Guilty! Guilty!

And guilty again! 

 

(regards to Emile Zola)

 

The Greater Good

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Greater Good

 

The purpose of government is

To serve the greater good

Not to protect the wealth of the wealthy

Not to erect barriers of obstruction

Not to deliver daily platitudes

Not to promote the power of party

Not to deny the will of the people

 

The purpose of government is

To help the people in time of need

To answer the call of crises

To provide food to the hungry

To care for the sick and injured

To fight our common enemies

To protect us all from harm

 

The purpose of government is

To serve the greater good

 

Learning to Laugh Again

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

 

Learning to Laugh Again

 

A deadly barrage

A relentless wave

Sorrow upon sorrow

Blue upon blues

A shotgun blast

A plague of locusts

A scourge of misfortune

A midnight triple bill of horror

 

The little tramp walks into a bar

Tips his hat and stumbles

Head over heels

Heels over head

And back again

He retrieves his hat

Straightens his lapel

And plops himself down

As if nothing happened

 

Learning to laugh again

Begins with a smile

 

Starting Over

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR

Starting Over

 

The caterpillar becomes the butterfly

The seed becomes the exquisite rose

The mewling infant becomes the artist

The stumbling fawn becomes the doe

 

Everything in nature begins again

 

The bud blossoms into full glory

The vast sand land springs to vivid life

The deadly storm yields to calm waters

The raging sun becomes the night

 

Everything in nature is reborn

 

The lowly pauper becomes the prince

The wicked sinner becomes a saint

The simple maiden becomes a princess

What is in spades becomes what ain’t

 

Everyone deserves a new beginning

Everything must be reborn

As everything in nature is becoming

So everyone in life can be transformed

 

(regards to John Lennon)

 

The Year of Two Twenties

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR:  CORONAVIRUS SERIES

 

The Year of Two Twenties

 

A year of bitter fruit and bitter harvest

A harsh and twisted sister

A harbinger of darkness

 

She came too soon and never left

Leaving souls lost and hearts bereft

 

A year of malady and discontent

Of clouds that would not lift

Of rain that punished without end

Never breathing never cleansed

Fire drought and pestilence

Our energy is spent

 

A year of social uprising

We wonder will it be the moment?

We wonder was it worth the price?

The gatherings so many lives

Deepening the great divide

Compelling us to choose sides

 

The year of twenties ends with hope

A little longer we must cope

Wearing masks and keeping distance

Washing hands with soap

 

Born in innocence it ends in infamy

Like Shakespeare’s Gloucester: 

There is no creature loves me

And if I die no soul shall pity me

 

Goodbye year of twenties

May we never meet again

You demanded our attention

But it’s time for you to end

 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

The Shadow of Christmas

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES

The Shadow of Christmas

 

The shadow of Christmas has fallen

On a tired and weary nation

The virus has metastasized

Like a deadly invocation

 

The holidays raised our spirits

And stimulated our senses

But in its wake it’s sad to say

It weakened our defenses

 

So now we face the consequence

Of Christmas cheer and sharing

We watch the virus soar and spread

And fear we’ll lose our bearing

 

The question we must ask ourselves:

Was it worth the cost?

So much pain and suffering

So many lives we’ve lost