If you think we're headed in
The wrong direction and wish to restore
Your trust in the country because you don't
Recognize it anymore,
Vote.

If you think our current "leader"
Has ruined the country and defiled
The office of the presidency
And acts like a spoiled child,
Vote.

If truth and facts are meaningful
And you find it mystifying
How so many people can
Defend a president's constant lying,
Vote.

If you believe in the urgency
Of choosing a person to be the one
Who could undo the damage that
The current president has done,
Vote.

If you're tired of the status quo
And want to see someone defeat
A paranoid narcissist
Who spreads his poison tweet by tweet,
Vote.

If you fear a dismal future,
To save this nation, you have a choice:
As if your life depends on it,
Let your ballot be your voice.
Vote.

-by Bob B (10-26-20)

Policies have repercussions.
Take family separation--
A policy that's practiced by
The Donald Trump administration.

We separated families
Here in the good ol' USA
As a form of punishment
For refuge seekers wanting to stay.

After two and a half years,
Eleven hundred kids remain
Separated from their parents!
Such a practice is insane!

While the government's explanations
Have been untruthful, vague, and distorted,
Five hundred forty-five
Of the kids' parents have been deported.

Lawyers have been seeking the parents.
Imagine the effort the search would entail.
Up to now the monumental
Task has been to no avail.

Separation is bad enough.
But with inadequate record-keeping?
We've sown the seeds of heartlessness;
Look at what we now are reaping.

The policy has been a disaster.
Who could not describe it thus?
Such an ugly picture it paints;
And what does such cruelty say about us?

One could look for an ounce of compassion
Within Trump's heart, but it's no use.
What we've seen is basically
Government-sanctioned child abuse.

-by Bob B (10-21-20)

Irony of ironies.
Tell me: have you taken a peek
At Donald Trump's proclamation--
The one for Character Counts Week?

It refers to integrity
And personal responsibility.
It emphasizes honor and virtue,
Moral character, love, and civility--

All wonderful qualities.
But something here just doesn't fit:
The proclamation clearly drives home
The fact that he's a hypocrite.

He speaks of compassion and understanding
And acts as though he's standing beside us.
However, instead of uniting us,
His vitriol and lies divide us.

His hatefulness has caused so much
Suffering, both here and abroad.
It doesn't take a lot of effort
To recognize that he's a fraud.

The words of the proclamation are fine
And point out worthy aspirations--
That grateful hearts will serve as a "beacon
Of hope for future generations."

But how can anybody trust him?
He can woo us with flowery speeches,
But we can see that HERE Donald Trump
Doesn't practice what he preaches.

-by Bob B (10-19-20)

COVID-19 hasn't left us.
In fact, it's becoming major league
As people grow weary of taking precautions
And slowly give in to pandemic fatigue.

It doesn't help when misinformation
Spreads as rapidly as the disease.
The virus doesn't sing just one song;
Over and over it sings a reprise.

It also doesn't help when people--
Especially when presidents--
Fail to heed the warnings and keep
Having super-spreader events.

Granted, humans are social beings.
But sadly we will pay the price
If our myopia keeps us from making
A necessary sacrifice.

You could get the virus and be
One of the lucky ones. It's true.
Mild symptoms could possibly be
The worst thing that happens to you.

Or you could have a full-fledged case
That could come with a large price tag
As you succumb to the illness and leave
The hospital in a body bag.

Even when there are mild cases,
There have been revelations
That in the future people could have
Unexpected complications.

Listen to the experts out there
And not to distracting words of the quacks.
By following simple measures we
Can stop the virus in its tracks.

Let's not fall into the trap
And think that the dangers are overblown.
The life you save by being careful
Might not merely be your own.

-by Bob B (10-18-20)

So, Amy Coney Barrett,
As Trump's newest recruit
To sit on America's highest court,
"Blessed be the Fruit."°

You shine through the Republicans'
Hypocrisy, and we
Must bite our tongues as we are forced
To answer with "Praise be."°

Your past opinions show how you
Could easily undermine
Individual rights, for there
Is SO much on the line.

Clear responses to the senators'
Questions were so sparse
That your confirmation hearing
Was a total farce.

It's also very obvious
That your suspicious connections
Will throw into question our
Free and fair elections.

The illusion of majority rule
Is slowly being eroded,
As justice for Americans
Has become corroded.

How long until there's pressure to
Replace the word "Goodbye"
With the cold and threatening
Expression "Under His eye"?°

-by Bob B (10-16-20)

°Sayings used in the dystopian society of "The Handmaid's Tale"

I never used to swear that much.
Really. But things have changed.
It's hard to keep from doing it when
One's president is deranged.

His constant tweets are maddening.
I really have to admit
That when I read them, I say he's full of
A word that rhymes with "spit."

To watch his reckless and smug demeanor
Makes me rather sick.
I can't help thinking he acts just like
A word that rhymes with "trick."

When I'm really incensed and feel
He's acting like a schmuck,
Before I can stop it, a word slips out--
A word that rhymes with "duck."

As I watch him destroy this country,
A phrase emerges, which
Starts with the word "son" and ends
With a word that rhymes with "twitch."

When he lies, my sense of decorum
Is difficult to sustain,
And I cannot refrain from taking
A certain name in vain.

When I've lost it, I say that he's--
And I am totally frank--
A blankety-blank, blankety-blanking
Blankety blankety blank.

I know that losing one's cool is not
Behavior considered sublime,
But what the heck? The president
Cusses all the time.

-by Bob B (10-15-20)

Typhoid Trump. How he loves
His super-spreaders! Yes, siree!
All the attention from cheering fans
Fills his hungry heart with glee.

Heaven forbid he wear his mask,
Even though he's been infected
With COVID-19. He doesn't care
If most of the crowd is unprotected.

His Florida friend Ron DeSantis
Saunters past the crowded rows
Of fans, high-fiving them.
Afterwards, he wipes his nose!

While experts want to contain the virus,
Trump's theory is let it spread.
His virus-spreading ego trip
Has him dancing over the dead.

At rallies all over, the president's team
Support his notion of "herd mentality"°
And speak to unprotected crowds.
What a peculiar sense of reality!

Giuliani says people don't
Die from COVID anymore.
Really? Seven hundred people
Died that day. Numbers soar.

Ironically, Pence asks the crowd
At a rally for the president
To applaud first responders! What?
While at a super-spreader event?

What an odd relationship
Between Trump and his promoters!
It's almost as if the Trump campaign
Is trying to **** its very own voters.

-by Bob B (10-14-20)

°Trump meant "herd immunity."