As chief diplomat,
By the way-o,
You're NOTHING but a rat,
Mike Pompeo.

So Trump has become
Your protégé-o.
Sounds like zero-sum,
Mike Pompeo.

Supporters you may please
Every day-o
By acting like a ******,
Mike Pompeo.

But most of us see fully--
Let us say-o--
The workings of a bully,
Mike Pompeo.

Kelly° asked about
The game you play-o,
And all you did was shout,
Mike Pompeo.

Calling her a liar,
Not okay-o,
When YOUR pants are on fire,
Mike Pompeo.

Your reputation's in
Disarray-o--
One more thing to spin,
Mike Pompeo.

What are you trying
To convey-o
With your constant lying,
Mike Pompeo?

You and Trump should know--
Come what may-o--
You'll reap what you sow,
Mike Pompeo.

-by Bob B (1-30-20)

°Mary Louise Kelly, NPR reporter

If vital evidence is withheld,
In NO way can a trial be legit.
Such a trial would be a sham;
Our system of justice would take a hit.

If key, relevant witnesses
Cannot testify, then how
Can the outcome of such a case
Be valid? It can't. What's happening now

In the Senate is a travesty.
Finding the truth is not the goal.
Kowtowing Mitch McConnell
Disgustingly has sold his soul.

The president's lawyers focus on
Arguments completely off base.
They try to distract the members of Congress
With info irrelevant to the case.

Still obstructing Congress, Trump
Expects that he will be acquitted,
When in actuality,
He really ought to be committed.

-by Bob B (1-28-20)

Dogs and cats can enhance our lives--
At least when we don't break out in hives,
Constantly sneeze and blow our nose,
And have to experience other woes.
Dogs are very demonstrative,
Quick to obey, and quick to forgive.
Cats, however, are more mysterious,
Less predictable, surely more serious.

It’s true that when a cat’s in heat,
The sounds she makes are far from sweet.
But rub your hand across her fur
And listen to her soothing purr.
Dogs insist on making their mark
By giving a loud, annoying bark.
They scare you with a threatening growl
And drive you crazy when they howl.

Of course, dogs can learn to shake
And sit--both a piece of cake.
They'll fetch, roll over, heel, and stay,
And try to do other things you say.
Cats will hear your every command
But ACT as though they don't understand.
They understand but find it stifling
When asked to do what they find trifling.

If you have a coffee table,
Tie things down if you are able.
Larger dogs will never fail
To knock things off with a wagging tail.
Cats will daintily tiptoe by
And not leave everything awry,
For cats have had much greater success
At demonstrating their finesse.

When dogs perchance let out a ****,
Your nose will crinkle, your eyes will smart.
Cats, however, have much more class;
You hardly know that they've passed gas.
When dogs are out to walk or play,
They'll **** and then just walk away.
With dirt or sand, cats construe
A way to cover up number two.

I have friends who say to me
That dogs make better company--
That dogs provide more dividends
Because they make much better friends.
But I say there should be no shame
If cats make calm restraint their aim.
And I choose friends who in no case
Would slobber on me and lick my face.

Dogs must always get a whiff
Of everything that they can sniff.
One wonders what's going on in their minds
When they smell one another's behinds.
Cats bring manners up a notch:
They don't walk up and sniff your crotch.
They're more subtle and wouldn't dare;
They display more savoir faire.

While dogs don't like to be alone,
Cats…well they do fine on their own.
Dogs out there should NOT be offended;
Any insults were unintended.
I must say I have no regrets
Discussing what I prefer in pets.
Surely, some of you think I'm nuts,
But I still prefer cats to mutts.

-by Bob B (1-27-20)

Mighty Jupiter, massive, majestic…
Three hundred times the size of planet Earth.
Shaper, molder of many of our planets.
First planet formed at our solar system’s birth.

Your gravitational pull is completely unmatched
By any other planet that revolves around the sun.
Despite over four billion years since your making,
Your strong influence and your work are yet undone.

How do you manage your many, many moons--
Seventy-nine plus on paths around your sphere?
Callisto, Io, Ganymede, Europa…
Do you have a name for our moon down here?

Where would we be if it hadn't been for you?
Would there have been the birth of humankind?
As you rampaged through our solar system,
Is this configuration what you had in mind?

Protecting us from objects farther out in space,
You could also send us a dangerous surprise:
By hurling an asteroid in the earth’s direction,
You have the potential to cause our demise.

You are certainly a mystery of science--
Baffling, inscrutable. Your power, raw.
We here on Earth respect your magnanimity.
We fear you somewhat, yet we look at you with awe.

-by Bob B (1-25-20)

Sometimes you see her admiring herself
In the mirror that's hanging next to the shelf.
And when she does it, oh, how she shines!
Is that, dear cat, how you practice your lines?
She seems not to care if we pay attention,
But maybe right here I ought to make mention
That being an actress, she's disinclined
To always reveal what's going on in her mind.
And she'll never, never tell you her age--
Aphrodite, the cat of the stage.

She says, "You know…I'm not one to cuss,
But when I am hungry, I WILL make a fuss."
Yes, she can certainly put on a scene
And act as though she's an importunate queen.
She says, "My dears, if I'm weak or mild,
I'll never drive the audience wild."
That critical scene is repeated each night--
A regular tour de force all right.
Yes, it's best to try to assuage
Aphrodite, the cat of the stage.

Her eyes were surely her greatest feature;
She THUS scoured the town for a drama teacher,
"Who," she says dolefully, "told me one night he
Could make me a star. ME: Aphrodite!"
But as it turned out, ol' Mr. Mittens
Made her instead a mom of eight kittens.
"But," she says, "THAT'S between you and me.
You know how I like my privacy."
It's good to always be on the same page
With Aphrodite, the cat of the stage.

One thing you learn is for her it's the norm
To act a bit slighted when asked to perform.
She must be totally in the mood
Or else she behaves in a manner subdued.
And heaven help you if you are neglectful
Of if her audience is disrespectful.
She'll exit the room like a "cat" out of hell,
And you may not see her for quite a long spell.
You never want to see her rage--
Aphrodite, the cat of the stage.

She sighs and says, "It's such a shame that
Few playwrights write good roles for a cat.
My friends say--when they see me upset--
'Commercials might be a better bet.'
My talents, however, as you might have guessed,
Best fit the stage. But now I must rest."
With that she lifted her nose in the air
And strutted out of the room with great flair.
It's always nice: advice from a sage
Like Aphrodite, the cat of the stage.

-by Bob B (1-24-20)

Something has happened, and I'd be remiss
If I neglected to tell you this:
There's reason to worry, but try to calm down.
Acrobat is back in town!
His ancestors lived at the Long Beach Pike
Starting way back in the days of Ike.
You have a right to be concerned,
For people all over the town have been burned.
Not a very good diplomat
Is Acrobat, the harbor cat.

When you're dining, be on guard:
He doesn't leave a calling card.
Calamari has its appeal,
But sushi is Acrobat's favorite meal.
He'll ****** the salmon right off of the rice.
(He much prefers seafood to mice.)
Before fried cod can touch your lips,
He'll steal the fish but leave the chips.
He doesn't need a welcome mat--
Not Acrobat, the harbor cat.

At barbecues it's always unclear
How certain items can disappear.
So if you are missing a sausage or two,
A chicken leg, or even a few,
It's not too hard to believe, is it,
That Acrobat was paying a visit?
Swiping food for him is a cinch.
But rodents…well…they'll do in a pinch.
Be on the lookout if you are a rat
For Acrobat, the harbor cat.

There are some who can outfox a fox.
Just after dawn on the fishing docks,
Out of the blue, someone yells, "Wait!
What has happened to all my bait?"
While he stands there scratching his head,
They say that behind the cleaning shed,
Hidden among the buckets and mops,
Acrobat sits, licking his chops.
He won't hang around and stay for a chat--
Not Acrobat, the harbor cat.

Now Acrobat, a cagey sort,
Doesn't believe in child support.
He WON'T help raise his progeny
And blames it all on phylogeny.
He's quite the dandy and quite the cad.
But watch out if you make him mad.
I would wager that many regret
Ignoring him as a credible threat.
You really want to avoid a spat
With Acrobat, the harbor cat.

-by Bob B (1-23-20)

All would be quite different today
If we hadn't interfered
In Iranian politics
In the 1950s. What is weird--

Or maybe isn't when you consider
How the world functions--is how
What we did way back then
Is coming back to haunt us now.

Helping to orchestrate a coup,
Our CIA helped a man--
Mohammad Reza, the Shah--return
To be the leader of modern Iran.

The Shah moved the country forward,
But there was also a huge increase
Of harsh acts to stifle dissent
By the Shah's secret police.

The 70s brought a revolution.
The people rose up, and then voilà:
Iran became an Islamic Republic
And said good riddance to the Shah.

What we have now is a mess:
Iran wants to define its role
In the Middle East, while we have
A leader with no impulse control.

Ignoring possible repercussions
And thinking he knows so much more
Than all the experts, he could likely
Involve us in a senseless war.

A recipe for disaster? Yes.
The president MUST be stopped in his tracks.
A sense of diplomacy and brains
Are two important things he lacks.

-by Bob B (1-11-20)