I heard a knock upon the door.
“A knock so late at night?”
I felt a strong presentiment
That something wasn’t right.

Toward the door I inched my way
And stood with bated breath.
I opened it, and there I stood--
Face to face with Death.

He said, “Don’t let me bother you.
It isn’t TOO late, is it?
I was in the neighborhood
And thought I’d pay a visit.”

“Death, be gone! I am not ready
For eternal sleep.”
And quoting Frost, I told him I had
“Promises to keep.”

“Once you’re gone, that won’t matter,”
He said. “And furthermore,
The only thing that matters is
What’s happened heretofore.”  

“That’s not true,” I told him. “There is
Always much to do.
Karmic causes and effects
Bring constant revenue.

“By revenue I do not mean
Individual worth;
I mean how our actions help
To benefit dear Earth.”

“Poor thing,” said Death. “Everything
Must pass. Don’t you see?
All that you have done dissolves
Once you come with me.”

“Oh, you are so wrong,” I countered.
“Every worthy action
Has a positive effect--
If only just a fraction--

“And those effects live on and on.
And, no, they do not die.
There’s more to accomplish here,
So, therefore, pass me by.”

And so Death turned to walk away
And gave me a reprieve.
I guess he wasn’t so dead set
On forcing me to leave.

Maybe he’ll find someone ready
To go, with spirits beaming.
Or else he’ll try to drag away
Someone kicking and screaming.

-by Bob B (8-8-22)

Many speakers of English avoid
Using the F-word. That's okay.
But I am concerned; therefore, it's
A word I'm not afraid to say.

FASCISM. There! I said it.
We've seen it rise; we've seen it fall.
Now it's as though fascism is
Getting a brand new overhaul.

Viktor Orbán of Hungary
Speaks of the impropriety
Of what to him is anathema:
A mixed-race society.

Keeping our countries "pure" is what
Orbán touts as a major goal.
Non-white immigrants only dilute
The race. Sound familiar? Jawohl!

Orbán's rhetoric jumps right out of
The **** playbook--right on track.
The press and academic freedom
Are also what he loves to attack.

And yet he's invited to Texas to speak
At CPAC,° where crowds on the Right
Give the man a standing ovation
And raise their voices in cheers of delight!

He talks about the replacement theory
And takes advantage of each opportunity
To viciously attack and malign
The LGBTQ community.

We also know that Donald Trump
Gladly put out the welcome mat
For Orbán to come and speak with him.
Of course, who is surprised about that?

In World War II we fought to stop
The rise of fascist dictatorships.
The movement again is a growing problem
With which we have to come to grips.

Stakeholders in democracy,
Be on guard or we will lose
The freedoms for which we fought for years
If we close our eyes and snooze.

-by Bob B (8-5-22)

°Conservative Political Action Conference

-R v. W and Kansas-

SCOTUS! Oh, my: what a sham!
And boy, are we in a jam!
The ruling it made
On Roe versus Wade
Sets us back fifty years. ****!

With their extremist mentality,
They THINK they're defending morality.
They merely show
What we all know:
That they're out of touch with reality.

The people of Kansas decided
That they will not be misguided.
Women won't lose
Their right to choose,
For reason and sense have presided.

-China-

China is rattling its saber
And hurling more threats at its neighbor.
Taiwan be free?
That just can't be:
A point China loves to belabor.

-Brittney Griner-

Brittney Griner has learned
How easy it is to get burned
In Putin's domain--
A scary terrain.
We all want Griner returned!

Let Russia be struck from your list
Of places to visit. The gist?
People's small actions
Are major infractions,
For justice there doesn't exist.

-by Bob B (8-4-22)

As loads of information emerge,
We see the tactics Trump was using
If he didn't win the election:
To STEAL it IF he thought he was losing.

Lawsuits Claiming Election Fraud:

First, he filed his frivolous lawsuits.
One by one, they were dismissed.
******* up charges don't hold water.
The evidence just didn't exist.

Fake Electors:

Then he resorted to fake electors--
Another carefully thought-out plot.
His fraudulent scammers would help him win.
At least, that is what he thought.

Using States to Overturn Votes:

Fake electors didn't work;
Therefore, Trump asked certain states
Not to certify the results.
That would have put us in dire straits.

He called many legislators
And asked them all to cancel votes.
Since they'd love to keep him in power,
He knew that would float their boats.

Using Congress to Overturn Votes:

So then Trump urged his sycophants
In Congress, "Please, do what you can
To help me win!" And some of them even
Tried to help the desperate man.

DOJ Interference:

Claiming widespread election fraud,
He asked Bill Barr to get to the heart of it,
But since there was no evidence,
The DOJ would have no part of it.

Using the Military:

Using his unscrupulous lawyers,
He tried to concoct another means
To keep his power. The military,
He thought, could seize the voting machines!

Sabotage on January 6:

That idea hit a brick wall.
Still lacking ethical sense,
He decided to pull off his scam
By putting pressure on Michael Pence.

On January 6 Trump's mobs
Stormed the Capitol, trying to
Sabotage the election process--
Basically, performing a coup.

As Trump watched the chaos on his TV,
For three hours no one could sway him
To call off the mobs. His major concern?
How could Michael Pence betray him?

And Now What?

A long, premeditated scheme
To steal an election is what occurred.
Criminal intent appears
To be so clear from all that we've heard.

If folks aren't held accountable,
Concerned people have the impression
That what transpired at the Capitol
Will end up being a training session--

A training session for coups in the future.
If that happens, it will devour
Our democratic system and end
America's peaceful transfer of power.

-by Bob B (7-31-22)

Acknowledgements: Many thanks to Ari M.

Vote, everybody!
Vote to protect
Women's right to choose.
Vote to slow down
Climate change.
Otherwise, we all lose.

Vote to preserve
Equality:
Marriage rights for all.
Vote to save
Democracy
In our election this fall.

Vote to uphold
The rule of law.
Do NOT lower the bar.
Make all people
Accountable--
No matter WHO they are.

Vote to protect
The environment
From damage and abuse.
Vote to defend
The Constitution
From dangerous misuse.

Vote to fix
Our broken system
Of immigration laws.
Vote against those
Who aim to put
Human rights on pause.

Vote for folks
Who are loyal to
Our Constitution and try
To do what's right.
Don't be fooled
By candidates who lie.

Vote for effective
Gun laws that make
Our country a safer place.
Vote to give kids
A good education.
That's something we must embrace.

Vote so we
Can have more judges
Who do not impose
Extremist views
Upon the people.
We have too many of those.

Vote for a system
Of fair taxation--
A workable system in which
All people
Can benefit
And NOT just the rich.

Vote to support
Diversity.
So much is at stake.
Don't give in
To apathy!
Vote, for goodness' sake!

-by Bob B (7-28-22)

1
Watch the Christian nationalists
Trudge across the land--
Quoting from their Bibles,
With the book in hand.
Poisoning the minds of
People as they go.
They won't stop until they make their
Rules the status quo.

Chorus:
Watch the Christian nationalists
Trudge across the land--
Quoting from their Bibles,
With the book in hand.

2
As they watch diversity
Spread in many ways,
They will push their dogma
With the funds they raise.
Say good-bye to equal rights
As they march along.
They think God's on THEIR side, so they
Can do nothing wrong.

Chorus

3
Scorning Jews and Muslims
Is their common thread.
They hope they will vanquish
Foes with lies they spread.
Look into their hearts and you’ll
See through their façade.
Blending church and state, they want
A country ruled by God.

Chorus

4
Folks like Mastriano°
And like M.T. Greene°°
Are among the wackiest
People we have seen.
As they speak their gibberish--
Each deceptive word--
They with their pretentiousness
Can't help being absurd.

Chorus

5
If perchance your lifestyle is
One that they condemn,
You deserve no freedoms if
You don't think like them.
They don't seem to care to
Love and to forgive.
They do not believe in concepts
Like live and let live.

Chorus:
Watch the Christian nationalists
Trudge across the land--
Quoting from their Bibles,
With the book in hand.

-by Bob B (7-26-22)

°Doug Mastriano - far-right gubernatorial nominee in Pennsylvania
°°Marjorie Taylor Greene - far-right conspiracy theorist and U.S. representative from Georgia

A rep° from the state of PA
Who has a son who is gay
Voted to ****
A marriage bill
And gave gay unions a nay.

Three days after his vote--
Everyone please take note--
He didn't disparage
His son's same-*** marriage,
In fact, here is a quote:

He said he was "thrilled to attend"
The wedding and didn't descend
Into causing a schism
With harsh criticism
And seemed to be pleased in the end.

By catering to his factions
And causing major distractions,
He showed his true being,
For what we are seeing
Are HIS hypocritical actions.

-by Bob B (7-26-22)

°Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA), who voted against a bill to codify protections for same-*** unions