Women of Texas, steady yourselves;
The breeze is turning into a gale.
The American Taliban is trying
To force you into a Handmaid's Tale.

Women of Texas, if you are
Of childbearing age, please remember
That wildfires of epic proportions
Can start with only a single ember.

Women of Texas, although they aren't
A panacea that cures all ills,
IF you're concerned, maybe it's time
To stock up on morning after pills.

Women of other states, beware:
The stealers of women's rights aren't through.
Attacks on you and your freedom of choice
Might be occurring in your state, too.

-by Bob B (9-3-21)

Anti-vaxxers have been chanting
"My…body…my…choice!"
As a response to the COVID vaccine.
That's the message they choose to voice.

For years, pro-choice supporters have used
The same slogan, proclaiming their vision:
That when it comes to women's bodies,
What women do is THEIR decision.

Texas legislators have now
Passed draconian abortion laws,
Which are so extreme that they
Put the rights of women on pause.

The laws permit citizens
To act as bounty hunters per se,
Which shows that intimidation in Texas
Apparently will be okay.

For frivolous reasons, anyone
Can take somebody else to court
Who knew someone who needed to end
A pregnancy and offered support.

No provisions for **** or ******:
A case in which there is no maybe.
If a woman is *****, then she
Must deliver the ******'s baby!

No abortions after six weeks?
Let's be frank and not forget
That many women in just six weeks
Don't even know they're pregnant yet.

Republicans in Texas have
Decided that they prefer the song:
"YOUR…body…MY…choice"--
Something they've aimed for all along.

-by Bob B (9-2-21)

Oh, my goodness! Once again
The quacks out there are on a roll,
And they have found their gullible fans
To follow them down the rabbit hole.

Now they're pushing ivermectin--
Which is a horse deworming med.
They'll come up with any nonsense
And then sit back and watch it spread.

Instead of getting vaccinated,
Some people would rather take
A drug that could be dangerous
And possibly put their lives at stake.

There's no proof whatsoever
The ivermectin works to fight
COVID-19 in human beings.
To push the drug is just not right!

In fact, there should be consequences
For doctors who push snake oil solutions
For COVID treatments. How many lives
Will suffer from their contributions?

People need to obtain the facts
In order to gain true self-reliance.
But some insist on saying, "Give me
Ivermectin! To hell with science!"

-by Bob B (9-1-21)

A boy was taking a bath in a river--
An occurrence that was nothing new,
For he was a simple lad who lived
In the country and wasn't well-to-do.

He slipped on a rock and lost his balance
And splashed about with his arms outspread.
Not a swimmer, he didn’t like being
In water that was over his head.

Fearing that he was going to drown,
He called out for help from a passerby,
Who happened to be walking near
The river when he heard the boy's cry.

Instead of helping the drowning boy,
The passerby gave him a scolding.
The boy, struggling to stay alive,
Could not believe what was unfolding.

The passerby said, “It’s careless of you
To go out where the water’s so deep.
When common sense was distributed,
You were probably fast asleep.”

The desperate boy responded by saying,
"Sir, I've listened to what you've told me.
But I would be so grateful if you
Would save me first, then afterwards scold me."

We're not sure what happened next.
Let's hope that the passerby was able
To save the boy so there would be
A happy ending to Aesop's fable.

If we can learn the following lesson
From Aesop's tale, it would be nice:
In crises, giving assistance is more
Important than merely giving advice.

-by Bob B (8-28-21)

°An Aesop fable retold here in verse

While wandering through the forest one day
A lion chanced upon
What he hoped would be his dinner--
A young, injured fawn.

A bear approached who also had
The same idea in mind.
He was starving, for it had been
Some time since he had dined.

Both of them battled fiercely,
Clawing, scratching, biting.
Ultimately, the two became
Exhausted from the fighting.

They lay on the ground severely wounded
And trying to catch their breath,
Realizing how much effort
It took to fight to the death.

A fox had been observing the scene
From not too far away.
Jumping for joy, he said to himself,
"This is my lucky day!"

Too weak to move, the lion and bear
Watched in disbelief
While the fox ran off with fawn
In his mouth. The little thief!

The weary fighters agreed that they
Had been extremely unwise:
All that time they had spent fighting
And the fox ran off with the prize!

Moral? Some work very hard
And never receive acclaim,
While others receive the credit and profit.
What a rotten shame!

-by Bob B (8-26-21)

°An Aesop fable retold here in verse

A thirsty stag wandered into
A meadow to reach a pool.
He saw his reflection in the clear water
And thought to himself, "How cool!

"What a beautiful pair of antlers!
I can't believe they're mine.
The curves are superb; they spread out so far.
They're UTTERLY divine!

"But, oh, what ugly legs I have!
They need some readjusting.
How skinny and weak and contorted they look!
They couldn't be more disgusting."

All of a sudden, a lion appeared.
Then a chase ensued.
The stag knew that he had to run fast
Or he'd be lion food.

At first the ground over which he ran
Was free of many trees.
He was able to outrun the lion
With the greatest of ease.

However, soon he came to the woods
Where branches were hanging low.
His antlers got caught in the branches, and he
Staggered to and fro.

As the lion approached the stag,
The stag could clearly see
That he was about to die, and so
He cried, "Oh, woe is me!

"While I despised my legs, I praised
My antlers to the skies.
Ironically, my antlers will
Lead to my demise."

The moral? We should stop and think
Before we gloat or boast,
For far too often we value the least
What is worth the most.

-by Bob B (8-26-21)

°An Aesop fable retold here in verse

A hungry fox was walking along
And spied some very familiar shapes.
Deep in a garden he noticed a trellis
From which were hanging some bunches of grapes.

"I must have those grapes," he thought.
He took a giant leap but found
The fruit too high and so he landed
Empty-handed back on the ground.

"This is not a good thing at all.
Perseverance!" he said, but when
He leaped into the air for the fruit,
He landed empty-handed again.

"****!" he exclaimed. "Not to eat
Those luscious grapes would be a crime,"
And so the exasperated fox
Attempted to reach them one more time.

But, alas, once more he failed.
"Oh, well," he sighed. "Some other day.
Why did I waste my time? Those grapes
Were probably sour, anyway."

Of course, the fable has a moral:
Often we become upset
And criticize and denigrate
Whatever it is that we can't get.

Ah, but there's another lesson:
Why rush to grab the grapes on the vine
When we can wait a little longer
And then partake of some heavenly wine?

-by Bob B (8-25-21)

°An Aesop fable, "The Fox and the Grapes," retold here in verse