RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE
Paradise in Flames
Maui is in flames today
A lush green island getaway
A place where the privileged stay
A paradise where the wealthy play
But there are ordinary people too
What will the many homeless do?
When the hurricane winds rose and blew
They fanned the flames, the fires grew
Of course the tourists got out fast
Of course the homeless get out last
Paradise will never be the same and
All of us must share the blame
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WEALTH
Money
Those who think about money most
Are those who do not have it
(at least, not enough of it)
Those who have the most money
(enough to toss it away on toys
and games and playthings)
Never have to think about it at all
Money grows from the ground
They plant their feet upon
Like potatoes and root vegetables
They hire day labor to water and tend
And the famine never comes
One day however the famine will come
And the people with all the money
Will learn to count and recount
And tend to their own piece of land
When that day comes
Money will lose its meaning
People with grit and character
Will rise to rule the earth
While the people with money
Will fall and fade away
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE
Joshua Trees
Fire rolls across the desert
The Joshua Trees disappear
An ecosystem forever altered
The realization of our fears
Fire cannot burn the sand
These trees have stood a thousand years
Scorched and turned to wasteland
The howling wind is all we hear
And will we ever learn
The error of our ways
Let the barren deserts burn
As we approach the end of days
We have become destroyers
Of all we know and see
Our past will never know
The future that must be
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: IMMIGRATION
Killing Migrants
Killing migrants on the Big River
Killing migrants on the river of hope
Killing migrants for a political stunt
To make America great again
We need labor on the fields of plenty
We need workers to pick the crops
We need someone to care for the kids
We need people to tend the gardens
We need someone to trim the hedges
Rake the leaves and mow the lawns
We need workers to build new houses
To shelter and care for the elderly
We need people to fight the fires
And help those caught in the storm
Instead of putting them to work
We call names and drown them
As they if they have no value
As if they were not human
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: RUSSIA
Nineteen Years (for Navalny)
This is how dictators deal with opposition
Nineteen years in perpetual prison
For founding an independent press
For leading a political party
A sentence that will be renewed
Until the people forget or
Navalny breathes his last breath
As Putin does to Navalny
So Trump would do to all opponents
Should he recapture the White House
Hillary Clinton: Lock her up!
Hunter Biden: Lock him up!
Mike Pence: Hang him!
Jack Smith: Lock him up!
The Democratic Party: Lock them all up!
Navalny gets nineteen years
Nineteen years for speaking out
Nineteen years for democracy
Nineteen years for the truth
Nineteen years for opposing war
How many years will Joe Biden get?
How many years will Ari Melber get?
How many years will Gavin Newsom get?
How many years for journalists?
How many years for impartial judges?
How many years for dissident voices?
How many years for protesters?
How many years for you?
How many years for me?
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: HISTORY
A Hero
At times in our history
A story marked with war
A person rises from obscurity
Or from a distant shore
Who calms our insecurities
Who rises to the test
Who grabs the call to destiny
The finest and the best
Who honors truth and dignity
Who guides us on the way
Who grabs us by the collar
Who knows just what to say
No need to scream or holler
A gentle touch will do
Who makes us stand much taller
The false against the true
We need such a hero
To save us from ourselves
To lift us from our blindness
To deliver us from hell
We need a Joan of Arc
Without the supposition
A Napoleon Bonaparte
Without the bold ambition
We need a coalition
United to do good
Without the inhibitions
To do the things we should
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR
Children of War
Everyone suffers the devastation of war
The death toll is too much to bear
But no one endures the suffering more
Than the children caught in its lair
Those who will never breathe free air
The soldiers who have sacrificed lives
The mothers and fathers whose tears we share
The husbands who lost their wives
Yet all of it pales to the fate of a child
Stolen from a mother’s arms
The heart and soul of innocence defiled
An unbearable depth of harm
Do what you must you makers of war
But leave the children alone
Do not breach that forbidden door
Hear the gods of sweet mercy moan
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN HISTORY
Floridian History
Native Americans were given land grants
West of the Mississippi, north of the Rio Grande
Choctaw and Cherokee were awarded free
Passage to Oklahoma where the wind blows
Free and the antelopes run wild
General Crook bravely led his troops against
A band of seasoned warriors, women and children
At Sand Creek and Washita River
The gallant Colonel Custer withstood a savage
Attack of Lakota and Cheyenne warriors
At the battle of Little Big Horn
The importation of African slaves was an
Opportunity enhancement program to prepare
Unskilled labor for the modern economy
The razing of Black Tulsa was the result of
Riots and angry mobs objecting to the violence
Suppression measures of law enforcement
And deputized lawful citizens
Lynching was the occasional result of over-
Zealous citizens taking the law into their
Own hands
The internment of Japanese Americans during
The Great War for freedom was simply for
their own protection
Prohibition and the enfranchisement of women
Were the result of wrong thinking and
Unfortunate misinformation
The separation of church and state goes
Against the constitution and the word of God
Donald Trump won two presidential
Elections by a landslide of law abiding free
White citizens
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE
Go North (Northward Migration)
There was a time in the long ago
When the young listened to the old
I know it’s hard to believe it so
The old were wise, the young were bold
Go west, young man! the old advised
Where the air is clean and fresh
Give up your aged and tattered ties
The future’s in the west
So westward bound they rose and went
With dreams of wealth and health in tow
The fortunes saved were often spent
The westward trek was long and slow
Now the cry goes out once more
To those who seek a brighter day
The only way to go is north
A place where kids can run and play
Go north, young man, where hope survives
Go north to breathe clean air
Go north to keep your dreams alive
Go north if you still dare
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE
Foundations of Peace in Ukraine
The time must come for diplomacy
The people have suffered enough
Aggression cannot be rewarded yet
The war cannot continue forever
The foundations of a lasting peace
Involve concessions by both sides
Guarantees for both nations
Security, sovereignty and dignity
A just peace must begin with the acknowledgement
That Russia was and is the aggressor
That Russia violated international law
That Russia engaged in war crimes
That Russia is guilty of the crime of
Aggressive war
A just peace must begin with an understanding
That Ukraine posed no threat to Russia
That Ukraine is the victim nation
That every nation has a right to sovereignty
That every nation has a right to independence
That no nation should interfere in the
Sovereign affairs of others
Given these essential foundations
A negotiated peace must include
The guaranteed independence of Ukraine
The withdrawal of Russian forces
An end to the occupation of disputed territories
(Crimea and Eastern Ukraine)
Provisions for monitored referendums in
The disputed territories
Security guarantees for Russia against
Acts of aggression by NATO nations
A temporary moratorium on Ukrainian
Membership in NATO
Reparations from Russia to Ukraine
For the destruction and suffering caused
By its aggressive war
Forgiveness of war crimes
Amnesty for war criminals
All nations must eventually learn that
An act or aggressive war is a crime against
The community of nations
The age of war must end
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING
Florida on Fire
One hundred degrees at Manatee Bay
An ocean warmer than the air
Don’t leave you pleasant home today
Don’t swim unless you dare
The coral reefs are all but gone
Red Tide is everywhere
Still the guvnor works the con
If it doesn’t bleed, he doesn’t care
The ocean rise is coming down
Miami’s on the run
The sea will turn a stunning brown
Before the change is done
You may believe or not believe
The climate doesn’t care
Soon there will be no relief
It’s all too much to bear
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS
Wo Israel
One giant leap for autocracy
On small step for a man
An historic defeat for democracy
In an ancient, faraway land
Wo Israel! You have lost your way
Wo Israel! You will rue the day
Wo Israel! There’s a price to pay
Wo Israel! Let us bow and pray
You knew when you chose this man
To lead you in the cause of war
When it came to a balance of power
Netanyahu would slam the door
Wo Israel! You have lost your way
Wo Israel! You will rue the day
Wo Israel! There’s a price to pay
Wo Israel! Let us bow and pray
Listen to the people, hear their cry
Turn back before it’s too late
Do not betray the sacred trust
The promise of the Jewish state
Wo Israel! You have lost your way
Wo Israel! You will rue the day
Wo Israel! There’s a price to pay
Wo Israel! Let us bow and pray
RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY
Enemies of Democracy
Putin is a master propagandist
A pretender to democracy
His elections are a farce
He assaults the free press
He destroys political opposition
He attacks his democratic neighbors
For daring to choose their own leaders
Xi is a master of propaganda
Another pretender to democracy
Isn’t it strange how ruthless dictators
Find it necessary to pretend?
There is no genuine journalism
No institutions of free speech
No challenge to government dictates
No resistance to oppression
Erdogan is a wolf in sheep’s clothing
He exploits the religious right
He jails journalists and opposition
He punishes freedom of thought
He rules with the fist of fear
He maintains military control
Bolsonaro is a wannabe
He tried to negate a lawful election
He tried to silence the opposition
He tried to punish dissent
He failed
Netanyahu is a wannabe
He despises independent speech
He tried to gut the judiciary
He would destroy the free press
If he had half a chance
He would establish military rule
Trump is a threat to democracy
He admires only strongmen
He disrespects the rule of law
He wishes to use the justice department
To punish and silence his enemies
Given a chance he would end
Democracy in America and
Appoint an American King
