Saturday, May 07, 2022

Azovstal

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE


Azovstal (Ukraine)

 

Trapped beneath the surface

In a brutal fight for their mortal lives

All hope for relief waning

It is a struggle to survive

 

Russia loses another general

Putin cries it is not fair!

But there’s a price for bald aggression

Leave the cub, kill the bear

 

It is a portrait in pure courage

Beneath the surface of the earth

Fighting back the death machine

Leaves a measure of what they’re worth

 

They fight against all odds

They fight when hope grows thin

They fight on even knowing

It is a battle they cannot win

 

Is there a miracle in store for them?

Is there something we have not heard?

If there something we can do for them

Give the order, say the word

 

Thursday, May 05, 2022

Losing Democracy

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY


Losing Democracy

 

Every nation that has lost democracy

Never saw it coming

Every nation that wants democracy

Knows how hard it is to gain it

 

Losing democracy begins with the idea

That it can’t happen here

That our press is too established

That our institutions are too strong

That our courts are too honorable

That we’ve held our values too long

 

We take democracy for granted

We fail to protect the right to vote

We allow parties to betray principles

We turn our backs on treason

 

Out of anger and desperation

We elect autocrats and traitors

We watch as they overturn elections

We watch as they expunge voters

We listen to their propaganda

We believe their lies

 

Losing democracy is easy

Protecting democracy is hard

Restoring democracy is harder still

 

Wednesday, May 04, 2022

Escalation

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

 

Escalation

 

We are cautioned against escalation

It’s time we warned the other side

You can’t destroy a sovereign nation

You can’t negotiate genocide

 

There’s not enough in your cupboards

And there’s too much on your plate

You will bankrupt your whole nation

If you dare choose to escalate

 

So gather up your weapons

Take your soldiers back home

If you want to build your empire

You will build it all alone

 

You have threatened the whole world

With a nightmare of war

But the greatest of all nightmares

Is the nightmare that is yours

 

So pull out while you still can

Admit you’ve met your mate

Immortal history will understand

It’s the only move left: de-escalate

 


Monday, May 02, 2022

The Madness of War

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS (UKRAINE)

 

Madness of War

 

Have I gone mad?

Have I awakened in another time?

With all the comforts of the modern world

We still endeavor war

What madness is this if not

A sickness of the soul?

We have machines that carve

Realities out of silicon

Enough food to feed all sentient beings

On an overpopulated planet

We have the means to settle Mars

Wealth and fame in ample supply

Art and culture to satisfy the masses

Mass and instant communications

The ability to live beyond our years

Yet we still engage in war

The brutal barbarity of war

The endless cycle of war

The futile exercise of mass destruction

Imposed on innocent people

Have I gone mad?

Then let me sleep a hundred years

And awaken when there is no war

 


Saturday, April 30, 2022

A Mother's Son

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS (UKRAINE)

 

 

A Mother’s Son

 

They pretend there are no casualties

They tell their people not to mourn

We are welcomed there as heroes

Our enemies are scorned

 

But a mother knows a deeper truth

The moment her child is no more

Thousands of needless tragedies

From a pointless brutal war

 

Where oh where is my child?

Where is my darling boy?

Now begins the endless sorrow

The end of all our joy

 

Tell us the truth Mister Putin

Tell us the whys and wherefores

The reasons behind the madness

Of your dirty little war

 

And where oh where is my lovely child?

Where is my darling boy?

Now begins the endless sorrow

The end of all our joy

 

Thursday, April 28, 2022

The Great Healer

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS


The Great Healer

 

Two hundred years of toxic waste

Pumped into our atmosphere

It is more than we can stomach

But less than what we fear

Destruction so unthinkable

It almost seems unreal

The wounds that we inflict

The earth will one day heal

 

We may call it an act of god

Or the turning of the wheel

It is a fact of life on earth:

Mother nature heals

 

Our bodies are as the earth

Each ache and pain we feel

Will guide us to the remedies

And allow ourselves to heal

 

You may call it an act of god

Or the turning of the wheel

It is a fact of life on earth:

Mother nature heals

 

Nature is the healer

Of all things great and small

From the forest to the butterfly

Nature soothes it all

It has no moral compass

There is no wrong or right

When something goes awry

It shines a healing light

 

We may call it an act of god

Or the turning of the wheel

It is a fact of life on earth:

Mother nature heals

 

Putin's Mistress

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL JUSTICE (UKRAINE)

 

Putin’s Mistress

 

Alina is young and beautiful

She is literally half his age

Taking away her money

Would trigger Putin’s rage

But consider the alternative

He hides his wealth with her

We sanction all the oligarchs

With the hope it will deter

Yet we fear to punish Alina

For the trouble it would stir

 

To hell with Putin’s mistress

To hell with consequence

Take a look at those in Mariupol

Your patience will be spent

Let her swear to cut all ties

With the madman of the North

What was his becomes hers

As she sets a fresh new course

 

He will not see his children

He’ll never see his love

It’s the price that he must pay

For spilling innocent blood

 


Wednesday, April 27, 2022

The Liberation of Mariupol

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS (UKRAINE)

 

The Liberation of Mariupol

 

Piles and piles of rubble

Where neighborhoods used to be

Where workers used to work

Where parents raised families

 

The men tended their business

The women went their ways

Now there is but wasteland

Where the children used to play

 

Vladimir Putin liberated Mariupol

By exterminating the people

By crushing their spirits

By destroying their noble dreams

A liberation in smoke and dust

A liberation in missiles and bombs

A liberation in cold blood

 

The sound of liberation is the cry of death

The taste of liberation is a mother’s tears

The smell of liberation is burning flesh

The symbol of liberation is a mass grave

 

All hail the great liberator!

Who will he liberate next?

Will he liberate his own people?

Will he liberate his family?

Will he liberate himself?

 


Monday, April 25, 2022

Tam of Hong Kong

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Tam of Hong Kong

 

We sing of Tam Tak-chi

We mourn the death of democracy

Imprisoned for speaking her mind

and opposing Chinese autocracy

 

We sing of freedom and pride

We sing the song of Tam

We will march by her side

Though they may not give a damn

 

They will lock her behind bars

They will silence every voice

Yet we will sing wide and far

Until we are given a choice

 

Tell everyone you know and see

That sings the song of liberty

Oppression is the legacy

Of China’s president Xi

 

Sunday, April 24, 2022

Tempting Armageddon

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS (UKRAINE)


Tempting Armageddon

 

The madman of Moscow

Has traveled over the bend

Threatening the entire planet

With nuclear Armageddon

 

The madman does not care

How many people he kills

He’ll send his weapons anywhere

Just to give himself a thrill

 

He doesn’t seem to understand

That he’s not above the fray

The poison spread across the land

Will return in kind some day

 

The blow that strikes another

Will strike the killing hand

And death will be his mother

The skull will be his brand

 

The madman of Moscow

Will surely meet his end

For what you reap you sow

On that you can depend

 

Saturday, April 23, 2022

All Ukrainians Now

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS (UKRAINE)


All Ukrainians Now

 

We watched the invasion

From the day it began

We have seen the Ukrainians

Take their stand

Against all odds

Against the man

Who wants to conquer the world

And we want to help

But we don’t know how

We are all Ukrainians now

 

The war is raging

The die is cast

An unjustified war

Its destruction vast

What’s foul is fair

What’s fair is foul

We are all Ukrainians now

 

The death toll rises

The missiles fall

We bang our heads

Against the wall

This cannot stand

We take a vow

We are all Ukrainians now

 

Putin swears

He will kill them all

But Zelensky stands

Brave and tall

And we stand with him

To block his fall

How much more

Will our hearts allow?

We’re all Ukrainians now

 

Thursday, April 21, 2022

Le Pen

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS


Le Pen

 

There is a madness invading the body politic

There is a poison infecting the heart of democracy

Erdogan of Turkey

Bolsonaro of Brazil

Trump of the USA

Le Pen of France

 

So now France has been infected

and those who can and will

remember the Vichy government

of Marshal Philippe Petain

The authoritarian nationalist

Collaborator of the Nazi’s

 

Marine Le Pen

Shall you tempt Vichy again?

We do not believe your temporal denials

You are the collaborator and

Putin is your brethren

 

You would turn back the clock

on the best of the French tradition

You would sever the heart

of French democracy

even as you sever France

from the heart of Europe

You would betray our friends

in Ukraine

 

The people will not allow this betrayal

They will send you back into the

darkness from which you came

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

The Great Debate

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE


The Great Debate

 

Let the great debate now begin

While Ukraine is still a nation

We cannot sit by and do nothing

If NATO could be their salvation

 

It is NATO that shivers the dictator

It is NATO that fills him with fear

If we debate Ukraine’s entry to NATO now

The end of the war could draw near

 

We call on a unified Europe

All nations that hold freedom dear

Is not Ukraine a deserving friend?

Has not their case become clear?

 

Serve notice to Vladimir Putin

The brutality must come to an end

The future of all the world

On this question may depend

 

Monday, April 18, 2022

Unionize

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POEMICS


Unionize

 

Working in a warehouse

Big Brother on my back

Watching every move I make

Counting boxes in a stack

They warn us every day and night

Keeping us on track

It would not be prudent

And it would not be wise

It is not the time to unionize

 

But the workers in Long Island

Took the future in their hands

We won’t be fooled or frightened

It is time to take a stand

 

When workers stand together

There’s no limit to their power

The time has come to unionize

To the minute and the hour

 

(Note: Workers in Long Island

vote to unionize Amazon.)

Sunday, April 17, 2022

The Golden Egg

AN EASTER STORY FROM RANDOM JACK'S CHILDREN'S HOUR

by Jack Random with Illustrations by Robert Miller

 

 

The Golden Egg

 

All the children were in their Easter Sunday best outfits.  Sally had her pink dress with big yellow polka dots.  George wore his navy blue shorts with a billowy white shirt and suspenders.  Hair was coifed and combed, shoes were shined and faces were cleaned and cleaned again.  They were all primed and ready for the Great Easter Egg Hunt. 

Some said there were over a thousand brightly colored eggs and a thousand more plastic eggs containing candy and prizes to delight the young participants and fill their baskets with glory.  Laughter filled the air as children gathered at the starting line.  Parents looked on from their sheltered perches under the trees and on the porch. 

Mr. Williams was dressed in his Mad Hatter costume from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.  He marched to his starting post, turned to face the children and cleared his voice for his traditional speech: 

Ladies and Gentlemen!  Boys and Girls!  Welcome to the twenty-seventh annual Great Easter Egg Hunt of Dunwitty County!  This year we have the usual variety of colored eggs, candies and prizes to delight every child!  But one special child will have a very special treat indeed!  The child who finds the Golden Egg will be crowned this year’s Easter Egg King or Queen and will be privileged to ride in the Royal Float for the annual Easter Parade!  On your marks, get set…go! 

All the children ran as fast as they could and began to fill their baskets with delights – all that is except Carly who ambled along behind the others.  Carly was a child with special needs.  She had a condition – as her mother put it – that made it difficult to run and jump and dance and hop as the other children did.  But Carly had a gift that the other children did not have.  She believed in magic and because she believed magical things tended to happen. 

Today as she ambled out into the wide-open green lawn behind the other children, she saw a rabbit.  It was not an ordinary rabbit.  That she could clearly see.  It was a special rabbit.  It wore a pink shirt with broad white buttons, gray pants and white gloves.  One ear stood straight up and the other bent to the side.  It smiled a crooked wry smile that made you think it knew a secret that no one else knew.  The funny thing was no one else seemed to see the rabbit. 

Carly ambled right up to the smiling rabbit who bowed and introduced himself. 

“My name is Jack and who may I be informed is the charming young lady to whom I am speaking?” 

“My name is Carly!  Pleased to meet you, Jack!” 

She curtsied and Jack knew at once he had found the girl who would find the Golden Egg.  While all the other children scurried about, picking up eggs of every description and cackling with uncontrolled joy, Jack led Carly straight to a ten-feet tall pedestal.  It was glorious!  Jack pointed to the top and Carly saw it: a shining, brilliant and glowing golden egg!  It filled her with a happiness the likes of which she had never felt before but then it occurred to her that she could not reach the egg and her happiness was replaced with sorrow. 

Jack knew at once what she was thinking.  He smiled, took a few steps back and leaped up to grab the egg and carry it back to the ground where he handed it to Carly.  The joy instantly returned to her face and brightened her spirit.  She thanked Jack three or four times and then she ran to where her parents stood in the shade of a giant oak and held up the Golden Egg. 

Her parents hardly seemed to notice the Golden Egg.  They had just seen their little girl run like all the other children across the lawn of the Great Easter Egg Hunt.  It was a miracle. 

Carly looked back to thank her rabbit friend once more and she saw him bow and wink an instant before he vanished into thin air.  It was a very happy Easter for all – but especially for the little girl who believed in magic. 

 

 HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

Saturday, April 16, 2022

Shanghai Lockdown

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CORONAVIRUS SERIES


Shanghai Lockdown

 

The virus that came from China

Is living and thriving there still

The question must never be asked:

How many has the virus killed?

 

They claimed a national victory

A source of honor and pride

No virus could ever defeat them

For the party would not abide

 

They have locked down a great city

Whose people now live in fear

They are losing so many loved ones

But they are not allowed to shed tears

 

We cry for the Chinese people

As we mourn all the dead and the ill

We now know we must come together

When confronting a virus that kills