Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Religious Freedom & Evolution

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RELIGION


Religious Freedom & Evolution

 

Every individual on the planet

Has a right to believe whatever

He or she chooses to believe

So long as that belief does not obstruct

The life or liberty of others

 

All religions that honor this right

Should in turn be honored and

Embraced for whatever good they do

And provide for human dignity

 

Any religion that fails to uphold this right

That exceeds the boundaries of religious

tolerance should be compelled to evolve

In its beliefs for the advancement and

Betterment of civilization as a whole

 

Many religions (not all but many)

In their original forms – like the civilizations

That formed them – were built on a

Foundation of conquest and war

 

While this disposition may have served

Humankind in ways we no longer understand

Any purpose or benefit it once served has

Like the creatures of ancient times

Run its course and now serves only to

Impede the progress and survival

Of all inhabitants of the planet

 

Let us therefore dedicate ourselves to

A new and higher system of human

Belief and religious practice

 

Let us reform our religions in accordance

With the principal of tolerance and

Respect for our fellow beings

 

Amen.

Monday, May 22, 2023

Mother Earth

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING


Mother Earth

 

It is not enough to plant a tree

We must restore the sanctity

Of Mother Earth and Father Sky

It is not enough to wonder why

We must change our point of view

Invent a way of living true

To what this world demands

It is time to take a stand

The poisons in our water

The rivers are our daughters

The mountains are our sons

They live to nourish everyone

We must measure what we’re worth

By what we do for Mother Earth

 

Sunday, May 21, 2023

Thailand Awakens

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY


Thailand Awakens

 

The world is awakening from

A long and dangerous slumber

As the strongmen take power

And work to destroy democracy

As they attack the free press

As they attack civil society

As they attack the right to assemble

As they attack the right to protest

As they attack the right to dissent

As they dismantle their constitutions

As they challenge the right to vote

As they burn the bill of rights

As they burn books of free thought

At first the people go along

It is easier to go along

They watch in utter disbelief

They deny their own eyes and ears

It cannot happen here

They pretend it doesn’t matter

It can’t touch them where they live

Until it does

Then they awaken

Slowly at first and by degrees

Until the masses finally rise

To reclaim their human dignity

To reclaim their human rights

For some there is still time

For others it is too late

The damage done

Democracy once lost

Is difficult to regain

Pray it is not too late

Not for Thailand

Nor for us

 

Saturday, May 20, 2023

Turkey Rises (or Falls)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY


Turkey Rises (or Falls)

 

The people awaken

After years of silent slumber

The temptations of the autocrat

The ones who promise all yet

deliver nothing but the same old deal

Everything for the privileged class

Nothing for the poor

 

Erdogan promised the world

but he governed like a king

He crushed the opposition by all means

Mass arrests and mass detention

Demonize dissent, outlaw protest

Rule with an iron fist

 

But the people tire of his act

The people tire of their silence

The people tire of pretending they

are pleased with his brutality

The people have begun to

identify with the oppressed

 

Now the people assert their power

They have held on to their democracy

They have maintained the essence of

constitutional rule

The people rise as Erdogan falls

(or Erdogan rises as the people fall)

 

Thursday, May 18, 2023

India Rises

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY


India Rises

 

The seductive charm of Modi

has lost its hypnotic hold

The vote in Karnataka was

decisive, clear and bold

The voice of the Indian nation

has spoken loud and plain

Rejecting Hindu nationalism

Declaring all of it insane

 

Now India reclaims its place

among proud republican states

No longer must she hide her face

A brighter future now awaits

All nations as all people

at times must lose their way

To understand their destinies

To reclaim a better day

 

Soon Modi takes his leave

and all of India will rise

His legacy a broken dream

of hatred and of lies

 

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Leverage

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE


Leverage

 

We have a lot of leverage over Ukraine

And little over Vladimir Putin

If Ukraine wins the war Putin is lost

A pariah in the world

A criminal confined to his borders

If Putin wins Ukraine ceases to exist

 

So when the big bully says

He will end the war in days

You do not have to wonder

What he means

 

He’ll give everything to Putin

And next to nothing to Zelensky

He’ll ask one thing of the Kremlin:

A Trump Hotel in Moscow

Perhaps a golf course and resort

 

This is why Putin will not give ground

This is why Russian soldiers die

So that Putin can extend the war

Until his asset-ally in Washington

Assumes the American throne

 

This is what rides on the next election

Not just the health of the planet

Not just democracy in America

Not just the rights of women

Not just the carnage on our streets

Not just equal treatment of minorities

Not just an equitable economy

Not just the future of healthcare

But the balance of world power

And the independence of Ukraine

 

Monday, May 15, 2023

A Hundred Thousand

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE


A Hundred Thousand

 

A hundred thousand people die

We shake our heads and heave a sigh

A hundred thousand people dead

We turn it off and go to bed

 

A hundred thousand have no names

Our hearts are numb; we have no shame

A hundred thousand far away

A hundred thousand yesterday

A hundred thousand isn’t real

We have no tears, we do not feel

Another time, another place

A hundred thousand has no face

Has no mourners, leaves no trace

 

But a neighbor or a second cousin

Someone you once knew

A teller at your local bank

The singer with the two-tone shoes

A tender at the bar you drank

A teacher at the old school

A person with a name and face

Touches you in the very place

You live, you mourn, you grieve

 

You feel the death of one

As you will feel the deaths to come

But the death of thousands

Leaves you untouched and numb

 

Sunday, May 14, 2023

Remembering Mama

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS


Remembering Mama

 

We remember you most every day

Your smile, your voice, your special way

Of giving sound advice

You would not tell us twice

Once was all you needed

Your values firmly seeded

They grew along with us

We built a sense of trust

You would never lead astray

We remember to this day

 

You taught us what it was to love

Sometimes a gentle shove

Would put us on the track

We could never pay you back

For all the love and kindness

You knew how to unwind us

To lay us gently down to rest

Feeling warm and loved and blessed

You were always smart and clever

We’ll remember you forever

 

[Mothers Day 2023]

Saturday, May 13, 2023

Talkover at CNN

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP DAZE


The Talkover at CNN

 

The big bully doesn’t have conversations

He runs over you like a bulldozer

Like the bully that he is

And if you dare try to stand up to him

If you dare try to get a word in

He calls you nasty names

He holds you in contempt

And places you beneath his majesty

 

He has his narrative of fantasy

He sticks to his talking points

Everyone who disagrees with him

Everyone who interrupts his flow

His constant flow of sacred words

His golden jewels of wisdom

Is on the take of the elite

Under the influence of haters

Drunk on the manna of media madness

 

He alone can set you free

He alone can end the madness

He alone can restore dignity

He alone can lead the world to peace

He alone can give women want they want

He alone can make America great again

He alone can put people in their place

He alone is the genie of all genies

You know it, I know it

Everybody knows it!

 

The insurrection never happened

January 6 was a walk in the park

America has gone to hell

The Proud Boys are heroes

Stand back and stand by!

He’s got a job to finish:

Ending democracy in America

 

Thursday, May 11, 2023

A Dying Art

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

 

A Dying Art

 

I’ve always been attracted

to the dying arts

The arts for which society

no longer has a need

The arts that do not give

(they say) but only take

The arts that are sustained

by the generosity of patrons

The arts that have lost all relevance

in the modern techno world

 

Those who presume to know

The vagabonds of culture

The vultures at the door – but

never on the stage – have proclaimed

the death of the theater since

the time of Moliere

The holders of the poison pen

who have so often tried and failed

in the artform of their choosing have

declared in good time and bad faith

the end of the short story,

the death of the literary novel,

the demise of romantic verse,

the extinction of free-form poetry,

the inevitable decline of the written

word itself in all its transmutations

and yet the arts are still here

 

The theater has survived

a thousand slings and arrows

Poetry has survived the dumbing

down of the spoken word

Literature has thrived by paving

new avenues of expression

 

As Sam Clemens famously said:

Rumors of my demise are

greatly exaggerated

 

The arts in all its varied forms

will live as long as civilization exists

 


Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Fear (re: Martin Heidegger)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS


Fear

 

Fear is a state of mind that

Overtakes our conscious reason

Fear is a raw instinct that

Proclaims the arrival of a threat

To be fearful in a dangerous world is wise

To be fearful without cause is foolish

Fear enables our survival

But it can also paralyze

To live in constant fear is hell

To live without fear lacks drive

I am because I fear is twisted

I am because I do not fear is something

Less than human

Fear is a constant in our lives

We live with fear

It accompanies us like a shadow

It exists beneath the surface

Ready to rise and guide us through

The crises of our lives

But fear cannot overtake us

It would destroy us from inside

It would consume the essence of our lives

Acknowledge fear, embrace it

But hold it in its rightful place

 

(re: Heidegger)

 

Monday, May 08, 2023

Migrant Waves

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: POEMICS

 

Migrant Waves

 

They are lined up at the border

Ready to cross over

They’ve waited for the day

When the virus would subside

When the hatred would abate

When the gates of human kindness

would open up to let them in

 

They’ve been told to go away

Go back home where they belong

But they have no homes

No lands that welcome them

They have come from a brutal place

A place of murder and oppression

A place where mothers are raped

A place where children are abducted

A place of crime and violence

 

They are waiting for the gates to open

Knowing that they face discrimination

Knowing that many wish to harm them

Knowing they may be sent away

Or discarded like bags of trash

Or held in chain-link prisons

Yet they come to meet their fate

They come in waves of flesh

to remind us they are human

 

Do they not hope?

Do they not dream?

When you cut them,

do they not bleed?