Netanyahu: Without Restraint

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: ISRAEL & GAZA

Netanyahu: Without Restraint

 

Bombing without restrictions

Killing without restraint

Killing journalists and children

They will hear no complaints

 

Gaza is in tatters

Lebanon is bombed to shreds

Netanyahu does not care

How many families are dead

 

There’s a new sheriff coming

He will arrive in several weeks

Kill as many as you can

You can’t be seen as weak

 

They are killing throughout Syria

Beirut is laid to waste

Any chance of finding peace

Will be lost in Israel’s haste

 

To slaughter all their enemies

To alienate their friends

To kill with full abandon

Before the war can end

Remember Me

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

Remember Me

 

Remember me when the stars fall

From a sky of floating ash

Remember those who warned you

The end was coming fast

 

I know there is no comfort

In seeing past the bend

Where all is dread and dreary

Where darkness never ends

 

But do not fear or worry

There is little we can do

The die is cast in sorrow

The debt is coming due

 

Embrace your friends and family

As if it’s Christmas Eve

Their love will guide and warm you

When it’s time to mourn and grieve

 

When my time comes remember

I was one who saw it clear

The hard times and the warming

The end time drawing near

 

But hope will not abandon

For every end brings a new start

A vision of a better world

When this world falls apart

 

Spirits of Christmas

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Spirits of Christmas

 

The spirit of Christmas is giving

We celebrate with revelry

As long as we are living

We will decorate our tree

 

Unless of course we’re homeless

Or destitute and poor

Cursed with desperate loneliness

Then Christmas is no more

 

A holiday of majesty

A time of grace and cheer

Good fortune turns to tragedy

Our wonders turn to fear

 

So let us all be grateful

For the bounty we can share

As we enjoy our plateful

Let all know that we care

 

For the spirits are alive

Every day and every year

The giving spirit thrives

In all that we hold dear

 

Clemency (for Leonard Peltier)

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN JUSTICE

Clemency (for Leonard Peltier)

 

Half a century behind bars

For crimes he did not commit

Fifty years proclaiming injustice

Five decades of taking the hit

For the crime of not being sorry

That the FBI agents were dead

For surviving the deadly shootout

That the FBI agents led

 

Way back in the year of seventy-three

On the Pine Ridge Reservation

At a place called Wounded Knee

In the heart of the Oglala nation

The American Indian Movement

Planted a staff and laid their claim

To justice the Indian way

 

For seventy* days they held their ground

Seventy days to the nation’s shame

Two warriors of AIM lost their lives

Though few can remember their names**

They remember the name of Leonard Peltier

For he alone took the blame

For the shooting of agents Coler and Williams

For the killing of both the same

 

Peltier was not at Wounded Knee

But he was chosen to pay the price

A person of native bloodline

Had to make that sacrifice

 

There is no justice in America

As long as Leonard Peltier is held

For the crimes of someone unknown

Half a century spent in hell

 

* seventy-one

** Frank Clearwater & Buddy Lamont

Friends and Enemies

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SYRIA

Friends and Enemies (for Syria)

 

A friend becomes an enemy

An enemy becomes a friend

When circumstances dictate

Past problems we will mend

 

The world is a chess board

In which the pieces are exchanged

What once seemed so familiar

Now seems extremely strange

 

Whose side are you on boys?

On which side do you stand?

You stood with us today boys

Tomorrow you’ll disband

 

We’re sorry for the missiles

We’re sorry for the bombs

We’re sorry for mistaking

Which side you were on

 

Back then you fought for terror

We fought to free the land

We found it was in error

But now we understand

 

Our friends become our enemies

Enemies become our friends

If it never really matters

What message do we send?

 

Democracy in Syria

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Democracy in Syria

 

We hold our breath and wait

To see what happens next

There is a promise of freedom

There is hope and good cheer

The people gather in the streets

Where they cautiously proceed

Who will grasp the reigns?

Who will seize the power?

Will they use it in good will?

Or will they build a taller tower?

 

We pray for better days

We pray for peace and prosperity

We hope they pave the way

To a thriving new democracy

And yes we have our doubts

We have seen this act before

The best intended efforts

Have been lost to civil war

Elon Musk

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Musk

 

As Germany falls to pieces

As democracy yields to rust

We hear beneath the madness

The voice of Elon Musk

 

May we recognize his greed

May his empire be crushed

May his influence dissolve

With the fall of Elon Musk

 

As we mark his fascist leanings

May his castles turn to dust

As we understand his meaning

The hate of Elon Musk

 

With Trump and Putin by his side

May his enterprise go bust

His intention to divide us

The curse of Elon Musk

 

Let all the world awaken

To the truth of Elon Musk

May his values be forsaken

May he sacrifice our trust

 

(Musk supports the Neo-Nazi

AfD in Germany.)

The Christopher Wray Lament

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

Lament of Christopher Wray

 

The woeful reign of Christopher Wray

Marked by caution and weak delay

He paused when he should have hit the gas

He procrastinated and finished last

 

Even now he lacks the courage to stay

Instead of resistance he slowly fades

Nobody knows and nobody cares

Whether what he did was wise or fair

 

When it all came down he took a pass

When they hang his flag it will be half mast

He was so uncertain he pleased no one

He cashed his check and now he’s done

 

So here’s to you Mister Christopher Wray

You had your chance now go away

You might have had a huge impact

But you deferred and that’s a fact

 

(FBI Director resigns in advance of Trump.)

ABC Bends the Knee

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: JOURNALISM

ABC Bends the Knee

 

George Stephanopoulos misspoke

He took a step over the line

But if the Court was not a joke

What he said would be just fine

 

Freedom of the press is on the run

The warning is in place

The Bill of Rights is largely done

They will toss it in your face

 

The talking heads are bowing down

Leave your courage at the desk

A new journalism is in town

In propaganda we invest

 

The pundits and the powers

Are all bending at the knees

They’re all sacrifice and cower

They’re trying hard to please

 

We are a nation in retreat

We will toss away our rights

We’re telling everyone we meet

That this is not the time to fight

 

But if you’re having second thoughts

If you don’t like how it goes down

There’s still a battle to be fought

Find the guts to stand your ground

 

(ABC pays Trump millions to

settle a defamation suit.)

 

After the Fall

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SYRIA

After the Fall (Syria)

 

Assad is gone

The brutal dictator has flown away

Seeking refuge in Moscow

Leaving the signs of his depravity behind

Torture chambers and detention centers

The blood of the murdered

The screams of the dead

Assad is gone and hope is reborn

Yet hope is tainted with doubt

The millions who have fled

The Assad reign of terror

Wait in uncertainty

They celebrate the moment

They embrace the possibilities

Yet they do not yet come home

No one knows what happens next

No one can make the call

After the fall

 

We pray it is better

How could it be worse?

Yet we do not know

Will the new regime be open?

Will it crack down on dissent?

Will it move toward democracy?

Or will it shatter into pieces?

Syria is a nation in search of itself

Already it is under siege

Already it is under attack

The days and weeks that follow

Will determine all

After the fall

To Kill a Man

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: DEATH PENALTY

To Kill

 

To kill a man in anger

To kill a man for cause

To kill a man for vengeance

To kill a man is wrong

 

I understand the rage

When an injustice is done

But there is no compensation

In picking up a gun

There is no grand salvation

In public execution

Let the hand of justice reign

Let it be firm and strong

But let it be without emotion

For that which soothes today

Tomorrow it may stun

 

To kill someone in anger

To kill someone for cause

To kill someone is wrong

Regardless of the laws

 

There are many who are evil

Who deserve a sudden death

Their crimes are so despicable

They steal away our breath

When justice takes them down

We will not shed a tear

We’ll celebrate the moment

And raise a rowdy cheer

But we will not kill in anger

To prove that we are strong

We will not kill for vengeance

Because killing is wrong

 

Malibu Mourning

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

Malibu Mourning

 

Flames rage through Malibu

Home to the rich and famed

Howling winds of Santa Ana

Feed the anger of the flames

 

Run to save your lives

Run and don’t look back

Your homes and your belongings

Slowly fade to black

 

This is a place of beauty

Nature’s best and brightest star

We know you will come back

But we cannot know how far

 

This is only a beginning

Of the tragedies to come

It doesn’t matter where you live

Or where you traveled from

 

The warming comes a rising

Like a wave of thrumming dread

How many homes will vanish?

How many will be dead?

 

The Crusader

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN POLITICS

The Crusader (Pete Hegseth)

 

Those who do not know their history

Are most often condemned to repeat

They very worst of our worst atrocities

The Crusades ended in defeat

 

The Crusaders killed with utter pleasure

Annihilation was their only plan

They led massacres at their leisure

Killing children, woman and man

 

They believed their sword was blessed

Because they wore the Crusader’s cross

All sins forgiven when confessed

They never thought about the cost

 

In innocent lives and human suffering

In generations sworn to hate

All to grasp that illusive ring

To stake claim to their eternal fate

 

Now some would like a new Crusade

For another century of blood

Exchange the bullet for the blade

Watch the stream become a flood

 

(Trump’s choice for Defense Secretary

is a champion of the crusades.)

 

Buying the Presidency

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

 

Buying the Presidency

 

With the blessings of the Court Supreme

That lifted limits on contributions

Elon Musk has bought the White House

Along with all its institutions

(which he may ban from existence)

 

He pumped a fortune into propaganda

Without restrictions on content

He won a seat at the table of power

Now we’ll discovery his intent

(we can be sure it isn’t pretty)

 

Will the president sit him down

And attempt to put him in his place?

We’ll find out about his ego

Will he tell him to his face?

(and what a face it is)

 

I’m the richest man on earth, he’ll say

And I’d hate to tell you twice

If I want rice for dinner

By God, we’re having rice

(he brought his own chef)

 

You may think you have the power

But there’s not much you can do

If you’d like a talk with Vladimir

My office will approve

(and so the story goes)

 

(Musk puts up 750 million to elect Trump)

 

Trying Times

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

Trying Times

 

“These are the times that try men’s souls…”

 

  -- Thomas Paine, The American Crisis

 

As it was in America circa 1774

So it is today in Ukraine

It is a hard fought and bitter war

Sometimes it seems in vain

But those who stand it now

Through winter’s harshest strain

Deserve the eternal blessings

Of all who love Ukraine

 

We cannot blame the ones who fall

Who can’t endure the pain

For many answer to the call

Before their hopes are slain

Who cannot climb another wall

Though their love will never wane

 

Forgive them for their changing hearts

Their loyalty is plain

The war has broken them apart

We fear it breaks Ukraine

But those who stay the course

Will stand forever tall

The heroes of this dirty war

The love of one and all

 

(Ukrainian soldiers flee the battlefield.)

 

The Fall of Damascus

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: SYRIA

The Fall of Damascus

 

In the absence of opposing power

Damascus will fall

 

Iran is weakened by the Israeli war

Russia cannot answer the call

Their soldiers are preoccupied

Up against a Ukrainian wall

The Islamic State is still alive

Turkey is fighting the Kurds

The rest are divided into disparate tribes

Awaiting the latest word

 

In the absence of an opposing power

The remaining powers thrive

 

What happens next nobody knows

Save that anarchy will reign

A constant struggle only grows

A land of chaos gone insane

The civil war will carry on

Until some party wins

The tyrant of the day is gone

The tyranny begins

 

In the absence of opposing power

The prevailing wind grows strong

 

Democracy in Seoul

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Democracy in Seoul

 

The declaration of martial law

In South Korea has failed

Their parliament reacted swiftly

Democracy has prevailed

 

The people gathered in the streets

As they tried to block the Assembly

But the people’s ministers saved the day

A day that will live in memory

 

The day their republic survived

Their president’s thirst for power

If not for the people’s courage

It would be their darkest hour

 

It is one of so many reminders

How fragile a republic can be

The people must always stand ready

To rise up for the right to be free

 

Some say it could not happen here

Others say it has come to pass

The lesson of Seoul is very clear

One failure could be our last