Bryan Thompson, from Mississippi,
Didn't want to be vaccinated
Until he knew much more about
The COVID vaccine. Thus, he waited.

Caution is understandable,
And many people do not envision
Coming down with COVID. But Bryan
Soon regretted his decision.

He ended up in the hospital
With COVID, and soon he realized
That even though he had been careful,
He probably shouldn't have been surprised.

After some time, he was released.
Back at home he began to complain
About discomfort in one of his legs--
In fact, excruciating pain.

Back to the hospital he went.
There the doctors determined that he
Would have to lose his leg. It was
Amputated below the knee.

Bryan is lucky he's still alive.
He now feels that it was wrong
To hold off getting his vaccination.
He should have known better all along.

Please do not feel Schadenfreude
Or say, "Bryan, it serves you right."
No, be happy he's still alive
To help other people see the light.

-by Bob B (7-30-21)

We aren't out of the woods
Regarding the COVID pandemic.
One thing isn't helping:
The anti-vaccine polemic.

Despite our efforts to get
The virus under control,
Dis- and misinformation
Are taking a heavy toll.

If all had worked together
From the very start
To stop the virus from spreading,
Well, THAT would've been smart.

"MY body my choice,"
Some people will say,
As if that's going to make
The virus go away.

By not taking precautions,
The non-vaccinee
Can spread mutated strains
Of the virus to you and me.

Where COVID is spreading fast,
And the number of cases is sizable,
According to the experts,
The wearing of masks is advisable.

Some people think
That wearing a mask is futile.
Don't they realize
That COVID can be brutal?

No, wearing a mask
Isn't fun, but still,
It does offer protection
From something that can ****.

It isn't rocket science.
Listen to the pros.
Get your vaccination,
And cover your mouth and nose.

-by Bob B (7-29-21)

Stop the lies, conspiracy theories,
And gaslighting. Let truth prevail.
Every day we hear another
Radical far-right fairytale.

This year's January 6
Insurrectionists were NOT
Patriots. No, they were thugs,
Carrying out a violent plot.

Police officers testified
At a hearing on Capitol Hill.
Sadly, the four men have been
Forced to swallow a bitter pill.

Officers defended Congress
Against a wild and violent mob.
Understaffed and overwhelmed,
They were merely doing their job.

But many Republicans in Congress
Want you to doubt what you have seen--
To erase the violent images
That flashed across your TV screen.

Officers dealt with severe beatings,
Bear pepper spray, bone-chilling threats,
The fear of being crushed by the crowd,
And horrible racial epithets.

They were threatened before the hearings
And then after the hearings as well--
Vicious, violent threats, as though
They hadn't already been through hell.

And while the hearing was going on,
Republicans--on that very same day--
Met outside to offer support
To the thugs, until they were chased away.

How terribly sick and ironic it is
That some Republicans condemn
The officers who in January
Risked their lives protecting them!

Hopefully, during these hearings,
More information will come to light.
Congress MUST ignore what's politically
Advantageous and do what's right.

-by Bob B (7-28-21)

A guy said, "Wow! My stress level
Has really dropped. I am elated!
I owe it to my meditation."
"Yes, and maybe endorphins," I stated.

"What?" he asked. "What do you mean?
What do orphans have to do with it?
I'm TRYING to share what happened to
My mind, and here you go and ***** with it."

"No," I chuckled. "You don't understand.
You see, 'and orphans' is not what I said.
It has nothing to do with orphans.
I was saying 'endorphins' instead."

"There you go again," he continued,
"Saying it over and over again:
'And orphans, and orphans.' You sound like
A nitwit with a capital 'N'!"

"I, a nitwit?" I said, astonished.
"You are the one who keeps repeating
'And orphans.' Now I see that trying
To reason with you is self-defeating."

"Self-defeating? B...b…but," he stammered,
"I was merely attempting to share
The benefits of my meditation.
Orphans are neither here nor there."

"Listen: I WASN'T saying 'ORPHANS'!"
I yelled. "And frankly, I have to confess
Meditation in your case is
Of questionable effectiveness."

"Although your criticism," he said,
"Should bother me, I will not let it."
He walked away, and as he did,
He mumbled, "And orphans? I STILL don't get it."

-by Bob B (7-27-21)

(This poem can be sung to the melody of "Go Go Go, Joseph" from JOSEPH AND HIS AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tze325xsYd4

(Narrator)
Nancy P. was looking to
Investigate what happened here
Back on a fateful winter day--
On January 6 this year.

(The People)
Hey, Nancy, you're doing what you must.
We want a probe that is robust.

Good going, Nancy, do not shy away.
Get to the cause of what happened that day.
Please don't stop, Nancy. You should find out
What the insurgence was really about.

(Narrator)
A group that was bipartisan
Was Nancy's goal--was Nancy's plan.
But she found resistance from
Kevin M.--the hatchet man.

(The People)
Hey, Nancy, he wants to derail
Everything, for he wants you to fail.

So she received from McCarthy some names.
He was intent on still playing his games.
One was Jim Jordan, the worst of the lot;
Another Jim Banks, to spoil the ***.

(Nancy P.)
Sorry, guys, but you have proved
That you're not worthy of this task.
I want people willing to
Be serious. That's all I ask.

(Narrator)
First, Jim Jordan hoped that he could prove
That Nancy here had made an unfair move.

(Jim Jordan)
Investigations like this are a sham.
If you don't want me, I don't give a ****.
If you ask me, I have known all along
That having this probe is both outrageous and wrong.

(Nancy P.)
Sorry that you feel that way,
So go back to what you were doing.
But studying attacks on our
Democracy is worth pursuing.

(Narrator)
Then Jim Banks stood up to speak his mind.
He and Jordan had been closely aligned.

(Jim Banks)
You have made this a partisan mess.
You're doing nothing but causing distress.
Forget all the riots; why can't we move on?
For me it is all just one giant yawn.

(Nancy P.)
How bizarre that you both live
In alternate realities.
Too bad that the two of you
Can't see the forest for the trees.

You are dangerous; it's clear to see.
I think that most people would agree.

(The People)
Don't worry, Nancy, you've done what is right.
Stick to your guns and don't give up the fight.
What those two men have done is quite clear:
Each one of them has his head up his rear.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah…
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah…
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Nancy, you've done what is right.
Stick to your guns and don't give up the fight.
What those two men have done is quite clear:
Each one of them has his head up his rear.
His head up his rear…
His head up his rear…
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

-by Bob B (7-25-21)

What? Another indictment in Trumpworld?
How could anyone be surprised?
In Trump's realm, crime and corruption
Have become quite normalized.

This time it is Thomas Barrack.
Of course, he's made a not-guilty plea,
Denying the charges of acting as
An agent for the UAE.°

Barrack is now the eleventh Trump
Associate, who since twenty fifteen
Has been charged with federal crimes.
This time Trump can't intervene

And dangle a pardon in front of him--
Something he's been known to do.
He has other challenges now
Since he couldn't pull off his coup.

Every day the world discovers
More of what Trump's all about.
And why people STILL support him
Is difficult to figure out.

Journalist Michelle Goldberg
Describes the astonishing situation
That we are experiencing
Currently as “scandal inflation.”

Scandal after scandal has made
The weary public become inured
To further scandals. The lines between
Right and wrong are now obscured.

Integrity or deceitful corruption--
Some people prefer the latter.
And many turn their heads and pretend
That certain crimes just do not matter.

All the more reason the U.S. needs
Leaders who put their country before
Their greed and own self-interests.
Grift and corruption, nevermore!

-by Bob B (7-24-21)

°United Arab Emirates

Watch the two traverse the country
Totally engrossed
In taking their ludicrous, idiotic
Show from coast to coast:

An alleged ***-offender AND
The wacko QAnon queen,
Representatives Matthew Gaetz
And Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Greene's inflammatory comments--
Obnoxious and inane--
Got her kicked off House committees.
She acts downright insane!

Gaetz remains on his committee
Which investigates
Situations such as the one
Involving himself--Gaetz!

They're stirring up the far-right base
While trying to make a splash,
Appealing to people's basest instincts
And raking in the cash;

Ranting about cancel culture
And communistic threats;
Raising fears about our border
With negative epithets;

Reinforcing Trump's Big Lie--
A plot that they endorse;
And criticizing Black Lives Matter,
Which they hate, of course.

If you wonder how long until
The two clowns will implode,
As long as they have an audience,
They'll take their show on the road:

An alleged ***-offender AND
The wacko QAnon queen,
Representatives Matthew Gaetz
And Marjorie Taylor Greene.

-by Bob B (7-21-21)