Where are mental institutions
To help those in dire need?
Within our current societal framework,
We can see where their absence can lead.

Closing the doors of facilities
Has posed a problem--one that defeats
The very attempt to keep psychotic,
Insane people from wandering the streets.

I'm not talking "insane asylums"
Or "snake pits" by any means,
Such as the ones we've seen in the movies
Filled with unforgettable scenes.

No, I'm talking facilities where
Patients receive necessary
Psychiatric help, which can
Hopefully be temporary.

At least those who are dangerous to
Themselves or others would have a place
To access humanitarian aid.
It's a problem we have to face.

Money? Is it all about money
That taxpayers refuse to spend
To build the institutions that
Would help and protect us in the end?

Shame on us as a country if
We thoughtlessly choose to overlook
What could be a proper solution
Merely because of our pocketbook.

-by Bob B (5-12-22)

How many more Ukrainian people
Are you going to ****, Putin?
How much more innocent blood
Do you plan to spill, Putin?

How many more vicious lies
Are you going to tell, Putin?
How many more atrocities
Will you condone as well, Putin?

How many more soldiers committing
War crimes will you praise, Putin?
How many more innocent people’s
Homes will you raze, Putin?

How many more agonizing
Cries will you ignore, Putin?
How many more times will you try
To justify your war, Putin?

How many times can you look into
The mirror and fail to see, Putin,
The egomaniacal, heartless, cruel
Monster you’ve come to be, Putin?

-by Bob B (5-11-22)

Remember: schools graduate students;
It's NOT the other way around.
Students do NOT graduate schools
But FROM schools. And yet I've found

That many speakers confuse the expression,
Turning it around, and hence,
When they say they graduated
A school, it ends up making no sense.

Therefore, say you graduated
FROM a high school or college, please.
To say it correctly doesn't take
A great deal of expertise.

Schools that graduate many students
Ought to clearly and directly
Teach their students to say which school
They graduated FROM correctly.

-by Bob B (5-9-22)

If I were a woman, my
Reproductive rights should be
MY business alone, not YOURS.
YOU are not my referee.

If I became pregnant through ****,
My voice would be loud and firm:
It’s up to me if what is growing
Inside me should be carried to term.

I would not listen to hypocritical
Views about protecting life
From those whose words of shame and blame
Ignore my feelings and cut like a knife.

I would not listen to people who
Ignore what should be a woman's right.
And yet to secure this right, women
Always seem to be having to fight.

I would seek out expert advice
And weigh the options to do what's best.
I know it wouldn't be an easy
Decision. To that I would attest.

No, I'm not a woman, you see.
My name certainly gives me away.
But still I try to listen to
What many women have to say:

"You have the right to express your displeasure.
Yes, that would be fair and fine.
But I'll stay out of YOUR insides,
And you, in turn, stay out of MINE."

-by Bob B (5-4-22)

Compared to the age of the universe,
Our time on Earth is rather brief.
Still, the longer we live, the more
We'll walk hand and hand with grief.

Death knocks on the doors of others
And calmly ushers them away.
No matter how much a person resists,
Death will have its final say.

When losing family and friends,
It's hard to describe the pain we feel.
But when we consider our own demise,
The whole idea is oddly surreal.

The thought of suddenly being no more--
At least in our current ****** form--
Is totally foreign to us, for knowing
The world through our senses has been the norm.

Someday my favorite chair
Will no longer feel my rear.
The sound of my voice--my cries, my laughter--
Will not reach a single ear.

When I go, I’ll join the ranks
Of billions of other people who
Have died before me, which reminds me
That having to die is nothing new.

To let go and face the unknown,
Not to worry, not to fret…
We know that life is constant change--
That death is part of life--and yet….

-by Bob B (4-26-22)

Republicans used to believe
That democratic values will win.
Lately, however, they sing a new tune:
To hell with democracy; save your skin!

Power is what excites them now.
"Voter fraud!" is what they spin.
Voter suppression's their goal as they cry:
To hell with democracy; save your skin!

McCarthy and McConnell knew
The mess that Donald Trump was in,
And yet they chose to honor the motto:
To hell with democracy; save your skin!

It used to be that any support
For an autocrat would be a sin.
Now in bed together they shout:
To hell with democracy; save your skin!

To gain more power, they gerrymander
Districts in states, which is akin
To trashing our system as they proclaim:
To hell with democracy; save your skin!

Deceitful methods to stay in power
They will use and feel no chagrin.
The battle cry uniting them is
To hell with democracy; save your skin!

-by Bob B (4-22-22)

Despite what people want to believe,
COVID hasn’t disappeared,
And yet there's less attention being given
To masks and precautions, which is weird.

The virus continues to mutate, and though
It's maybe less potent than earlier forms,
The clouds haven't dissipated,
So we can expect future storms.

Even though the virus seems weaker,
People still grow ill and die.
The vaccinated are more protected;
There's no need to wonder why.

It's sad to see restrictions being
Lifted too early in certain cases.
Variants of the virus are spreading
Rapidly in certain places.

Conspiracy theories abound regarding
The COVID vaccine, sad to say.
But I'll take my chances with the vaccine
Over COVID any day.

And if you think that COVID was bad,
Experts warn us not to be smug.
Chances are good that in the future
We will see a deadlier bug.

In the meantime, I'll keep getting
My booster shot, and I know I'm
Going to be wearing my mask in buildings
And also on planes for a long, long time.

-by Bob B (4-21-22)