It was only six months ago
That we had an insurrection
Because a former president
Refused to believe he lost an election.

Inciting a large part of his base,
He kept repeating his dangerous lie,
Casting doubts on election results
That Congress was going to certify.

Many people want to pretend
That nothing serious happened that day.
They THINK that by ignoring it,
The whole nightmare will go away.

Gaslighting the public by making
People believe what isn't true
Further emboldens extremist groups
That Trump has given oxygen to.

Many members of Congress want
To get to the bottom of what occurred.
And yet the deniers are trying to squelch
The investigations, from what we've heard.

We need to know the facts: the whats
The whys, the whos, the hows and the wheres.
Let's get to the bottom of this
Horrifying state of affairs.

Over 500 people have been
Arrested for the part that they played
That day in storming the Capitol Building
And carrying out their disgusting crusade.

Whatever you do, do not call them
Patriots or tourists! NO!
The word "insurrectionists"
Is really much more apropos.

The more the truth is revealed, the more
We will understand, and then
We can hope that such an attack
Never ever happens again.

-by Bob B (7-6-21)

The 4th of July is here, and though
We haven't reached our goal,
We have still made headway getting
COVID under control.

A year ago, times were scary,
But I'll go out on a limb
To say that 2021
Is looking a lot less grim.

However, the Delta variant's spreading;
We must be on our guard.
Wherever we are vulnerable
It leaves its calling card.

And so enjoy your barbecue,
Potato salad and pie.
Party wisely, and have a safe
And happy 4th of July.

-by Bob B (7-4-21)

The date was June 21
In 1964.
Three men° had no idea
What would be lying in store

When they drove through the South
In efforts to promote
Equality by helping
Register Blacks to vote.

They were in Mississippi,
A place that was known for attacks
On basic human rights--
For disenfranchising Blacks.

Arrested and jailed for speeding,
They should have been alarmed.
The locals were working against them.
Of course, the three were unarmed.

After they left the jailhouse,
They were abducted and killed
And buried in an earthen dam--
Their goals as yet unfulfilled.

Two months later the men's
Bodies were found at the site.
Compassionate people were shocked
As details came to light.

The KKK, the sheriff,
And police were involved in the crime.
All but one of the killers
Served very little time.

After years of struggle
And much to our dismay,
We can see voter suppression
Still occurring today.

Why when we seek fair treatment
Are we up against a wall?
Will we ever secure
Equal justice for all?

-by Bob B (6-22-21)

°James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner

Get your vaccination.
Set your fears aside.
Do not count on others
To give you a free ride.

We're in this together.
Everyone take heart.
All can benefit
If we do our part.

Don't buy into tactics
That people out there use
To push a false agenda
And spread untruthful news.

Protect yourself and others,
And we will likely see
The vaccine help us reach
Herd immunity.

But STILL be on your guard--
Vaccinated or not.
Variants could pop up
For which we have no shot.

It behooves us all
To put this virus behind us.
Conspiracy theories only
Hurt, confuse, and blind us.

So get your vaccination
If you haven't yet.
Don't let your inaction
Be something you regret.

-by Bob B (6-20-21)

She was so beautiful, oh, so beautiful.
People said that for miles around.
Her radiant face: the pride of the pueblo;
Her melodious voice: the most pleasant sound.

Blessed with a husband and two lovely sons,
She never imagined her joy would end,
Until the day she found her marido
Making passionate love with her friend.

Jealousy hungers for vengeance, and vengeance
Opens its arms to grief and despair.
The wife was driven mad by her anger--
The pain being more than the woman could bear.

Taking her beautiful boys to the river
That gently serpentined down to the coast,
She drowned them both to hurt her husband.
Their death would make him suffer the most.

“What have I done?” she cried when she came
To her senses. “Padre, condemn me to hell!”
She waded farther out in the water,
And then she drowned herself as well.

Unable to rest, her spirit haunts
The towns, the valleys, the hills, and the plains.
Remorse and guilt can eat at the soul;
A hollow heart is all that remains.

They call her La Llorona; her cries
Can make a person die of fright.
Though seeking her children, she’ll settle for any
And ****** them away in the dark of the night.

Beware, beware, beware La Llorona.
Pity her plight, but fear her intent.
Beware the consequences of anger
And vengeance that leave us with much to lament.

-by Bob B (6-3-21)

Tell it to me plainly, simply,
Without incongruities.
I have NO more patience for
Vagueness and ambiguities.

Whatever you have to say, say it
Clearly, matter-of-factly.
"An unaffected, straightforward style?"
You ask. Yes, exactly.

Of course, flowery language has
A special time and place.
But please leave all pretensions behind
And just cut to the chase.

I want the message in such a way
That makes it easy to grasp.
But convoluted rigmarole
Makes me want to gasp!

If you wear your heart on your sleeve,
That is quite all right.
However, for puzzling plays on words
I have no appetite.

When I was much much younger, I found
A challenge to be amusing.
Nowadays, I have no time
For what’s unclear or confusing.

Complexity might be your thing.
If so, that is fine.
It might be your ultimate goal.
It’s definitely not mine.

Simplicity: that is key.
I don’t mess around
With splashy words or thoughts that make
My writing sound profound.

I want my ride to be comfy and smooth,
Without potholes and dips.
Bombastic words and overblown language
Make for bumpy trips.

Direct, precise, and to the point--
Without a lot of fluff.
That appeals to me right now.
With that, I’ve said enough.

-by Bob B (6-1-21)

The year: 1921.
The date: the 31st of May.
A White lynch mob gathered at
The Tulsa courthouse late that day.

The goal: to lynch a nineteen-year-old
Black man, who'd been accused of assault,
Perpetuating the racist idea
That Black men are guilty by default.

The man, **** Rowland, had been accused
Most likely because of a misunderstanding.
Nevertheless, the angry mob--
Thirsty for blood--showed up demanding

To take the law into its own hands.
The news spread; the mob grew in size.
Some Blacks--among them some veterans--came
To stop the lynching. Not a surprise.

All of a sudden, shots were exchanged.
A few people died on the spot.
The group of Blacks retreated while
Rumors flourished and tempers grew hot.

The African-Americans lived
In a bustling district called Greenwood. Its fame
Was rapidly spreading; America's Black
Wall Street was its popular name.

Mobs rampaged through Greenwood streets,
Setting businesses on fire,
Looting homes and murdering people.
Rumors and hatred stoked their ire.

Firefighters, who rushed to the scene,
Were under attack and forced to flee.
For eighteen hours angry White mobs
Carried out their ****** spree.

At least thirty-five city blocks
Lay in ruins on June 1st.
Of low points in American history,
This has to be one of the worst.

It's hard to know how many people
Died, for numbers were underreported.°
Historians are grappling still
With information that's been distorted.

Thousands of people were homeless, for over
Twelve hundred homes had been destroyed.
A once thriving, exciting district
Became a charred, horrendous void.

The massacre was not unique;
Others have happened here as well.
The country--though great in many respects--
It has other ghastly stories to tell.

Time does not erase the past.
Don’t let memories become obscure.
We must work together so such
Atrocities never reoccur.

-by Bob B (5-31-21)

°Initially, the state reported 36 deaths. Historians say the death toll was much higher, from 150 to 300 people.