(Can be sung to the tune of "Here Comes Peter Cottontail")

"You won't see my tax returns.
So what if you've got concerns.
You are never going to get your way.

"Though I talk transparency,
It does NOT apply to me.
You can ask but I will not obey.

"I've got **** Mulvaney,
And he has got my back.
I don't cave to pressure;
I will never crack.

"So you won't see my tax returns.
You can stick all your concerns
Up a dark place where the sun don't shine.

"No, YOU won't see my tax returns.
Just how much a president earns
Shall remain a secret, which is mine.

"I don't care if they resort
To laws, then we'll end up in court.
All I have to say is 'Make my day!'

"Business ties with Russia
And other countries, too,
And how I make my money
Are NO concern to you.

"So…
You won't see my tax returns.
Anyone who knows me learns
Very quickly I do things my way.

"Everyone has things to hide.
Cover-ups are justified.
My returns won't see the light of day.
No, my returns won't see the light of day."

-by Bob B (4-8-19)

The past has disappeared, and yet
It's all a part of this moment somehow.
The future hasn't occurred, but it
Is nonetheless tied to now.

The essence of what we were before birth
And also of what we'll be when we're gone
Eludes those who want to explain
An existential phenomenon.

Humankind's greatest attempts
To clarify life's mysteries
All fall short of certainty.
Is there one who truly "sees"?

Time and being are inextricably
Woven together. How sublime!
Time cannot be separated
From being, nor can being from time.

Why spend time--if that's the case--
Speculating on hocus-pocus?
Finding one's authentic self
Ought to be one's major focus.

Fight the waves and you might be
Swept away in the undertow.
Dive into the river of life
And let yourself go with the flow.

-by Bob B (4-4-19)

All was still on the temple grounds.
The sun softened the morning haze
While birds playfully pranced about,
Enjoying the warmth from the sun's gentle rays.

Morning meditation ended.
The master excused the monks to do
Their duties. A novice stayed behind
To ask for a private interview.

"I understand," he said, "that it's
Time for us to do our chores,
But I have an urgent problem.
Can we speak behind closed doors?"

They entered the dokusan chamber where
Regular interviews took place.
The novice closed the door to the chamber.
There they sat, face to face.

The novice said, "I don't know
What to do. I'm bored to death
With daily meditation sessions.
I'm SO tired of watching my breath!"

The master nodded his head and replied,
"Bored, you say. Hmmm. I see."
He stood up, walked to the door,
Turned and said, "Come with me."

He led the monk to the river's edge.
There he grabbed him by the head
And held it under the rushing water
Until the young monk’s face turned red.

The novice squirmed and flailed his arms,
"I am going to drown!" he thought.
When the master freed him, the monk
Gasped for air, feeling distraught.

Admitting that his strategies
Were such that some would disallow,
The master said to the monk, “Tell me:
Are you bored with your breath right now?"

-by Bob B (4-1-19)

°An old Zen anecdote retold here in verse

Okay, now they're at it again!
Yep, and they aren't fooling.
Trump and some Republican friends
Are in support of a ruling

To take away the health care from
Twenty-one million souls.
Destroying the ACA° has been
One of their loathsome goals.

Do you have a pre-existing
Condition? If that's true,
Finding affordable health care is
Going to be hard to do.

Dependents under twenty-six
Who up to this point can
Be covered on your policy will
Be kicked off your plan.

Are you perhaps on Medicare?
Well, congratulations!
You are going to have to pay
More for medications!

To roll back Medicaid expansion
In thirty-seven states
Means that millions of people are going
To be in desperate straits.

Did you hear that Trump has said--
Such hypocrisy!--
The real party of health care is going
To be the GOP?

He claims he loves America.
It really seems as if
Republicans don't care that he
Is leading them over a cliff.

-by Bob B (3-27-19)

°Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

"Vengeance is mine!" says Donald Trump.
When he strikes out, he thinks for sure he
Will make his critics cringe and cower,
For they'll be met with "fire and fury."

He expects apologies
From all who tried to "bring him down."
"No Obstruction" he says in a tweet--
Capitalizing a common noun.

"I have been exonerated!"
He says to the world, although it's not true.
But when has truth ever been
Essential from Trump's point of view?

Poor Trumpy just doesn't see
That when you lie, you raise suspicions.
Concerned people have looked for answers
Despite the president's admonitions.

When one lie after another is told,
People don't know what to believe.
It seems the Trumpian motto is
"To get ahead, lie and deceive."

If he were the only one lying then we
Could say, "Well, that's par for the course."
But when surrogates back up his stories,
Deception's become a tour de force.

Were there any apologies
For TEN Benghazi investigations,
None of which proved that there
Were any criminal violations?

If we weren’t constantly barraged
With lies and cover-ups, we could
Move ahead and find some ways
To benefit the common good.

Now watch how Trump behaves at rallies.
He'll find ways to weaponize
The Mueller Report. Ready, set,
Go! Ah, here come more lies!

-by Bob B (3-26-19)

Putin signed a bill into law--
Another bill that will surely curtail
Freedom of speech, for violators
Could very likely end up in jail.

This is the most recent attempt
To stifle the freedom of thought and expression.
For years, such autocratic
Control has been Putin's obsession.

They say that it's an effort to make
Fake news disappear,
Although "fake news" is anything that
The government doesn't want to hear.

This is what it basically means:
Russia will not tolerate
Criticism of Vladimir Putin
Or "disrespect" of the Russian state.

Of course, that's just attacks on Russia.
Everything else remains the same.
Russian attempts to tamper with
Elections here will be fair game.

So American democracy
And institutions remain under threat
While Russian troll farms and Russian bots
Keep on flooding the Internet.

Will Trump speak out, or will he stay silent?
We hear how often he defends
Autocrats, and to hear him speak,
Putin and he are the best of friends.

-by Bob B (3-20-19)

As Trump speaks from his bully pulpit,
Spreading more nonsense and lies,
White nationalist violence is
Definitely on the rise.

He may downplay atrocious behavior
And overlook figures and facts,
But other leaders feel that they're given
The right to commit egregious acts.

Listen to the president's words.
It isn't hard to see where he stands.
If fans don't get their way, he says,
They'll take matters into their own hands.

We know when Trump gives a command
In code or directly, some will jump.
He claims he has support from police,
The military, and Bikers for Trump.

Immigrants are "invading" our country;
Rough up hecklers. Those words are his.
He may claim he's not a racist,
But white nationalists THINK he is.

-by Bob B (3-18-19)