A Slow Descent

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

A Slow Descent

 

Democracy does not die easy

It begins by forgiving acts of betrayal

It begins by selling influence

It begins by casting doubt

It begins by creating a great divide

The US against the THEM

It proceeds by a thousand cuts

Each one a compromise

A demeaning of the others

A rewriting of history

It begins by convincing people

That elections are unnecessary

That the ruling class knows best

That the richest of the rich

Are the smartest of the smart

The fairest of the fair

The wisest of the wise

We have begun that slow descent

Into rule by aristocracy

The end of our democracy

Unless we wake up

 

Tik Tok

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CHINA

Tik Tok

 

He’s got something up his sleeve

An instrument of Chinese power

Tik Tok wins a late reprieve

Must be the Chinese hour

 

They’re collecting information

On every teenaged girl and boy

All to serve a sovereign nation

Though we may think it’s just a toy

 

The Russians have their ways

The Chinese have their own

We have seen the way it plays

The kids are dancing to their tone

 

We will see how this plays out

When the next election comes around

Will the Chinese gain new clout?

Will it shake our shaky ground?

 

Xi Jinping is not our friend

He will undo us if he can

On his motives we can depend

It is the long-term Chinese plan

Leonard Peltier is Free

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN JUSTICE

Leonard Peltier is Free

 

Of all the things Joe Biden did

In the final moments of his presidency

After fifty years of imprisonment

He set Leonard Peltier free

 

By this singularly important act

An act of executive clemency

By granting one man his freedom

He set a cause and a movement free

 

The FBI will raise a cry

But justice has been done

A long time late and bittersweet

But this battle has been won

 

Remember him at Wounded Knee

Remember what he sacrificed

For being a man of principle

He was chosen to pay the price

 

Like Geronimo before him

Like Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull

A spirit guide turned warrior

A hero and a man in full

 

Britain Takes the Lead

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: UKRAINE

Britain Takes the Lead

 

As the US takes a neutral lane

Great Britain takes the lead

In a new alliance with Ukraine

An agreement signed with speed

 

The world’s preparing for the day

When America is in retreat

Ukraine must find another way

Or face a certain defeat

 

A one-hundred-year alliance

A promise for the ages

A higher level of reliance

As the war in Ukraine rages

 

While the future is uncertain

Across the hemispheres

Russia rebuilds its iron curtain

Triggering our darkest fears

 

Will Ukraine still be a nation

When the US is withdrawn?

Or will a new allied creation

Awaken a new dawn?

 

The Oligarchs

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Oligarchs

 

The oligarchs are taking over

Let the people stand aside

The wheel of power grinding slower

The nation must abide

 

The oligarchs are everywhere

Every branch is in their hands

They own the water and the air

Maybe now we’ll understand

 

When we failed to limit money

As they bought our politicians

They all thought it kind of funny

When they fed us superstitions

 

They bought the way we worship

They bought the news we get

Just listen to their news clips

The propaganda field is set

 

The oligarchs are taking hold

Of every means to power

The takeover is crass and bold

They own the media towers

 

Don’t say we didn’t warn you

We informed you loud and clear

Our democracy will mourn you

As they magnify our fears

 

No Time for War

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR

 

No Time for War

 

A crisis around every corner

Never knowing what’s in store

When you’re fighting for survival

There is no time for war

 

The beasts of the apocalypse

Come knocking at our door

Fire, flood and pestilence

There is no time for war

 

The rising tides of warming

Are swallowing the shores

If you’re inside the danger zone

There is no time for war

 

The cost of finding shelter

From the deadliest of storms

When no one has an answer

This is no time for war

 

The pillars of our society

Are shaken to the core

The pressures and anxiety

This is no time for war

Wings of Freedom

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WAR & PEACE

Wings of Freedom

 

Freedom rides on the wings of hawks

Peace rides on the wings of doves

What freedom hides the peace unlocks

Both thrive on the wings of love

 

We’ve lived with war so very long

It’s like the air and water

Our need for war has grown so strong

We neglect our sons and daughters

 

We must always strive for freedom

We must always work for peace

We must strive as if we need them

May this need for violence cease

 

They tell us it’s a solemn choice

That the price of freedom is war

They would silence every peaceful voice

And cast us to the farthest shore

 

For we should never sacrifice

Our freedom for the peace

To do so would be like trading

Our home for a temporary lease

 

(Wings of Freedom is the Israeli name

for the program to return the hostages.)

War is Over

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GAZA WAR

War is Over

 

They say the war is over

If only for a while

So let there be a reckoning

Let there be a trial

 

For crimes have been committed

On both sides of the wall

Crimes against humanity

Offenses against us all

 

The hostages are coming home

The bombs and missiles still

No more will people suffer

If our leaders have the will

 

Find a way to live together

Without this bitter hate

Israel and Palestine

An independent state

 

The way of war must end

Respect for human rights

Put down your arms of vengeance

And travel toward the light

 

(Ceasefire signed.)

Global Challenge

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Global Challenge

 

We have lost Venezuela

The Bolivarian promise is dead

Nicolas Maduro doesn’t care

As long as his treasure chest is fed

It will require many years

To unbreed what he has bred

To take the long road back again

To where Hugo Chavez led

 

 

We are challenged in Columbia

From Brazil to Ecuador

Throughout the world the battle rages

For the workers and the poor

A fight for dignity and wages

Just to even up the score

A battle for the ages

To fight back El Dictador

 

The oligarchs and billionaires

The monopolies and corporations

Are undermining governments

Taking over sovereign nations

In a fight that’s never-ending

The goal remains the same

Defending our democracies

In more than just a name

Sanity

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: LIFE SONGS

Sanity

 

Hold on to your sanity

When the world is slipping into madness

Do not yield to your vanity

When the world is drowned in sadness

 

For we are not the center

Nor are we at the core

When the world descends to hellish grief

We are not the reasons for

 

In a world of gloom and horror

The sullen one is king

In a town of scream and shudder

The quiet one can sing

 

We have lost our equilibrium

We are reaching out for kindness

The ones who guide our passing

Are lost in moral blindness

 

If you want a world of sanity

Know that it begins at home

Take pity on humanity

For we are not alone

 

Farewell Trudeau

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: WORLD DEMOCRACY

 

Farewell Trudeau

 

Farewell Trudeau we loved you well

You served in stark contrast

To our own American leaders

You were a true iconoclast

 

You are a victim of global discontent

Like our own Mister Biden

An elderly man of principle

You were wise to confide in

 

You stood up for the dispossessed

You battled for the poor

But the global housing crisis

Combined with prices in the stores

 

To mark the end of your tenure

A time of turmoil and upheaval

A time of natural catastrophes

The rise of greed and evil

 

We remember how you managed Trump

With diplomacy and finesse

It was a delicate balancing act

You managed among the best

 

Now they say it’s time for you to go

No one seems to disagree

But your nation may well miss you

When they look back on your legacy

 

The Mandate

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

The Mandate

 

The people have spoken

In the language of the electoral college

A victory for the party of Musk

The party of Trump

The party of Vladimir Putin

 

A rejection of the party of tomorrow

That never finds its way to today

The party of hope that never finds reality

The party of old-timers

The party of promises

The party of Old Joe and Nancy

The party that talks a good game

But never quite delivers

 

A rejection of the party in power

That transcends all other factors

An affirmation of discontent

Throw all the bums out!

 

Through mass media propaganda

Gerrymandering and unlimited funding

The party of rage and discontent

Steamrolled the electorate

Toppling all branches of government

Including the people’s house

By the very thinnest of margins

 

There is no mandate here

Or if there is

It is a mandate of confusion

It is a mandate of negation

It is a mandate that waits

For the next chance

To say No again

 

Flames of Paradise

RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL WARMING

 

Flames of Paradise

 

Pasadena, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades

If paradise is an inferno

No place on earth is safe

Carried on the violent winds

Another home is laid to waste

These were the homes of millionaires

Stars of music, stage and screen

But there are working people too

Living out their hope filled dreams

 

Walk a mile in their shoes

See the horror through their eyes

As the flames are drawing nearer

As the smoke consumes the sky

You’ve lost all your belongings

You tell your friends goodbye

Your dreams go up in fire

No one can tell you why

 

What will tomorrow hold for you?

The promises are strained

No one can tell you what to do

Hold on and pray for rain

Be grateful you’re still breathing

Be grateful you can rise

As fire sweeps away the dream

Be grateful for your lives

(Prayers for the people of LA.)

A Monster Storm

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: CLIMATE CHANGE

A Monster Storm

 

Ice, wind and rain

A blast of swirling snow

Rolling thunder in the strain

The harshest winds will blow

From Florida to Maine

From Kansas to the sea

The climate goes insane

These monster storms will be

Arriving like a freight train

Like an army on attack

Before the next one ends

The last is coming back

To visit where we’ve been

With brutal wind and ice

A hundred thousand men

Build shelters through the night

It is not if but when

The storm will strike again

 

We know what it’s about

The climate war is raging

Let there be no doubt

The battles we are staging

Are ones of life and death

In a war that we’ll be waging

Until our final breath

Until our kids are aging

 

Neo Nazi Nation

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

Neo Nazi Nation

 

He was born in Pretoria

In a land of segregation

Now he speaks out for the advocates

Of a neo-Nazi nation

In the nation of the Reich

He calls for our salvation

A leadership of whites

A racial agitation

 

He wants to separate the masses

In accordance with their race

Into their separate classes

In order to keep pace

With the technologic masters

In the race to conquer space

 

He doesn’t care about the workers

He only cares about the cost

He would send us all to China

If they’d let him be the boss

He wants to maximize the profits

And minimize the loss

 

It’s as simple as the math

It’s as brutal as the beast

He admires all the strongmen

From the north and from the east

If he could conquer Europe

He would have a massive feast

And in the flames of conquest

Democracy deceased

 

Elon is a fascist neo-Nazi

A threat to all democracies

Now that his truth is showing

His opposition is growing

The Balance

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: GLOBAL POLITICS

The Balance

 

The despots have their champion

With his money and his fame

He yearns to carve an empire

And brand it with his name

 

He’s on the march in Britain

He has headquarters in Berlin

As for the rest of the world

Where do we begin?

 

There’s trouble in South Korea

The Middle East is in flames

Poland, France and Hungary

To our eternal shame

 

There’s panic all around the globe

As we count the final hours

There is no place beyond the reach

Of a madman’s quest for power

 

From Syria to Ecuador

From Columbia to Spain

The fear of falling victim

Like the victims in Ukraine

 

When we lose our sense of balance

Our bond of unity may fall

When the oligarchs take over

It will threaten one and all

 

The Split

 RANDOM JACK POETRY HOUR: TRUMP DAZE

The Split (Trump v. Musk)

 

The overlords are splitting up

Before they’ve had a chance

To drink from the victory cup

To celebrate the great romance

Of MAGA and the billionaires

Who grabbed the rings of power

The old school lords now sit and stare

While the tech lords seize the tower

 

The split is like a major quake

A divide that only grows

When will the chosen leader wake

The people want to know

And whose side will he take?

The side of Musk or that of Bannon?

What difference will it make?

Could we toss them in a canyon?

 

There’s trouble everywhere you look

They don’t know what to do

No one wrote it in their book

Take either side you lose

One side will give you wealth

Beyond your wildest dreams

The other made you president

Now how much does that mean?

 

So take a peek at history

See how this story ends

It’s really not a mystery

There’s nothing left to spend

You cannot close the great divide

You cannot right this wrong

When you choose to stand with one side

It’s the last note of your song