D.T.:
I'm sure by now you recognize
My wonderful expertise
Of stirring up my base by trying
To put their minds at ease.
If an issue threatens to cause
Danger or distress,
I'll just lie to my fans in order
To gain their faithfulness.

Oh, how I love my rallies
And how they make me feel!
Everyone wants to see me because
I've got crowd appeal.
COVID-19 won't stop my fans;
I defy it to try.
I can win in November even
If some of them have to die.

I deal with serious problems by using
A very special technique:
Ignore them and they will go away,
And DON'T appear to be weak.
If I wore a mask, well,
Then I'd have to admit
That there's a serious problem, and then
The market would take a hit.

Oh, how I love my rallies
And how they make me feel!
Everyone wants to see me because
I've got crowd appeal.
COVID-19 won't stop my fans;
I defy it to try.
I can win in November even
If some of them have to die.

Kim Jong Un gets hundreds of thousands
To praise him in the square.
Maybe they don't have a choice,
But, frankly, I don't care.
When the crowd before me cheers,
It fills my heart with glee.
They see me as their savior, and that
Is ALL that matters to me.

Oh, how I love my rallies
And how they make me feel!
Everyone wants to see me because
I've got crowd appeal.
COVID-19 won't stop my fans;
I defy it to try.
I can win in November even
If some of them have to die.

-by Bob B (6-26-20)

COVID-19 is still around us;
Don't think the virus has disappeared.
In fact, what is happening now
Is just what many people had feared.

Numbers are rising in many states.
Many people have lowered their guard.
While some of us are being careful,
The careless ones are making it hard.

Consistent messaging has been
Lacking from our leadership.
And what kind of guidance are
We now getting? Practically zip!

Because the wearing of masks is required
In certain places, people complain
At city council meetings. It makes
You wonder: Can't they use their brain?

As we reopen, we have to consider
A whole new way of thinking. What's more,
We can't--for now, at least--behave
Exactly as we behaved before.

We should watch how other countries
Got the virus under control.
Something here is not working.
Negligence is taking its toll.

As much as we'd like to wish it away,
Facing reality is a must.
It would be especially nice
If we had a president we could trust.

-by Bob B (6-15-20)

Trump’s America: sad, sad, sad.
The horrors are quickly coming to a head.
After three and a half ugly years,
See where his failure to guide us has led.

What have we heard over and over--
Hateful rhetoric, thousands of lies?
Democratic values to him
Are merely something to pulverize.

Accountability: what's that?
He's fought it every inch of the way.
His low and demeaning attacks on our freedoms
Were bound to blow up in our faces one day.

"What can I do to rally my base?"
He wonders. "Be as obnoxious as ever.
I can do whatever I want;
I just have to pull the right lever."

To unify the country? No way!
That hasn't been a part of his plan.
We've seen what happens when people elect
A president who's a shifty con man.

His groveling toadies in Congress have lost
Any integrity they might have had.
Their cowardly actions have shown us that if
Trump is toxic, they're just as bad.

"A fish rots from the head down."
We often hear that said, I know.
But with all that is happening here,
The old expression is so apropos.

A virus spreads; people are dying.
To Donald Trump, Wall Street comes first.
It's all about attention and money
For which he has an unquenchable thirst.

We know where his loyalties lie,
And it's NOT with us common people, for sure.
Beneath his pompous bluster lies
A man who's weak and insecure.

Come November we have to decide:
Do we give the tyrant the boot,
Or do we allow him to bring the country
Into greater disrepute?

-by Bob B (6-12-20)

You don't have to live in fear
Or be a germaphobe
To be on guard when a pandemic
Spreads around the globe.
Erring on the side of caution
Makes a lot of sense.
The benefits of wise and prudent
Behavior are immense.

So, don’t put your mask away;
Put it to excellent use.
You don’t like the way it feels?
That’s a poor excuse.
If you're asked to wear a mask,
Don't raise holy hell.
Wearing a mask could save your life
And other lives as well.

For certain inexplicable reasons
Some people are loath
To do something that might prevent
The exponential growth
Of COVID-19, a nasty virus
That hasn't left the scene.
It would be nice not to have to
Self-quarantine.

So, don’t put your mask away;
Put it to excellent use.
You don’t like the way it feels?
That’s a poor excuse.
If you're asked to wear a mask,
Don't raise holy hell.
Wearing a mask could save your life
And other lives as well.

Someday we can look forward to
Not having to wear
A mask that covers our nose and mouth
And seems to cut off our air.
For now, let's all cooperate,
And please do not revile
A practice, which--though not so fun--
Is certainly worth our while.

So, don’t put your mask away;
Put it to excellent use.
You don’t like the way it feels?
That’s a poor excuse.
If you're asked to wear a mask,
Don't raise holy hell.
Wearing a mask could save your life
And other lives as well.

-by Bob B (6-11-20)

Look upon the ocean horizon
And tell me what perchance you see.
"I see a ship that's bringing enslaved
People to toil in the land of the free."

This happened over and over again.
Tell me: did black lives matter then?

I see families weeping together.
Ask them why? What did they say?
"They said their loved one was lynched by a mob
Who call themselves the KKK."

This happened over and over again.
Tell me: did black lives matter then?

Why are those people spitting on
Those kids seeking better schooling?
"They don't like the idea of
The country's integration ruling."

This happened over and over again.
Tell me: did black lives matter then?

Why are police using whips,
Tear gas, and clubs on marchers? Take note!
"Ah, they are demonstrators
Marching for the right to vote."

This happened over and over again.
Tell me: did black lives matter then?

Many people seem upset.
What might be the explanation?
"Disproportionate figures of
Brutality and incarceration."

This happens over and over again.
When so, do black lives matter then?

Some people say “All lives matter,”
But all lives haven't for hundreds of years.
Stop rivers of hate and injustice
That empty into an ocean of tears?

-by Bob B (6-9-20)

"I can't breathe!" said a handcuffed man
Lying on the ground, trying to explain
That HE COULDN'T BREATHE! Sadly his words,
Falling on deaf ears, were said in vain.

"I can't breathe!" he said to the cop
Who had him on the ground to keep him in check.
"I can't breathe!" he told him again,
While the cop pressed his knee against his neck.

"I can't breathe!" said the man accused
Of possibly passing a counterfeit bill.
"I can't breathe!" For seven long minutes
The man repeated those words that chill.

"I can't breathe!": words reminiscent
Of Eric Garner's death in twenty fourteen.
"I can't breathe!" should have sent a signal
To others, but why did no one intervene?

"I can't breathe!" George Floyd's words
Were caught on video by someone firsthand.
"I can't breathe!" What about those words
For some of our police is hard to understand?

"I'm about to die!" the suspect added.
Will more black men suffer the same fate?
Finally, the cop removed his knee
From George Floyd's neck, but it was too late.

-by Bob B (5-28-20)

To wear, or not to wear a mask. The question:
Whether we wear a mask and stay protected
From possible contraction of a virus,
Or NOT and have to face the unexpected.

And if we thus throw caution to the wind,
Endangering the lives of those around us,
We will find the consequences costly.
The sad and dire statistics will astound us.

When we question what the experts say
And let ourselves be fooled by sly deceivers,
Then we end up on a wild pursuit
With other dazed conspiracy believers.

Confounded when some leaders give reports
That artfully confuse the truth with lies,
We MUST rely on facts that keep us from
Performing actions that would be unwise.

Experts say if we do not act now,
Later we'll experience regret.
It's not about just saving our own skin,
But other people's lives, lest we forget.

I don't think I'm wrong to say that life
Is something that most people value most.
Therefore, I reiterate that I
Am not so keen on giving up the ghost.

When we see behavior that is careless,
We should know to sound a loud alarm.
Some folks out there do not stop to think
How their recklessness is causing harm.

To wear a mask, of course, is not a pleasure;
For now it's just a necessary task.
But getting folks to wear one: that's the rub.
But tell me: is it way too much to ask?

Spread the word: oh, please put on your mask!

-by Bob B (5-26-20)